Path of a Hero
by foxdude33
Summary: This takes place after Star Fox: Assault. Fox and crew drift around in space, looking for a new job. Sound boring? Wrong. And there's something wrong with Falco... Rated T for language, violence. Chapter 14 up. Feedback is appreciated.
1. Base Battles

_**The Second Adventure**_

**By: Foxdude 33**

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox.

Hi! I'm Foxdude33 and this is my first fanfic. Enjoy.

PROLOGUE

Fox McCloud couldn't believe what was happening. The Krazoa God had been flying in reverse the whole time they had been battling. It had suddenly turned, and in its place was Fox's oldest enemy.

"Andross!" Fox gasped. "Ahhh… Fox McCloud, I've been looking forward to seeing you again," said the giant ape. He was scarier than Fox could remember, what with his crazed crimson eyes and razor sharp teeth. This was truly the devil itself. "And now, to destroy the Lylat System!" Andross roared. "I've got to stop him!'' Fox cried, pushing his G-Diffuser to its limits. Andross grinned evilly and turned 'round again. The Krazoa statue then opened its mouth and exhaled a giant tornado of air, which on its own threatened to tear Fox's Arwing in half.

But just as soon as the wind began, it stopped. Fox took this opportunity to fire at the statue's eyes and forehead. He managed to destroy all the gems and, with a chorus of maniacal laughter, Andross once again faced the hero. This time, he began a familiar swiping pattern with his massive hands. Fox managed to dodge both attacks.

Suddenly, Andross began firing homing missiles at Fox's Arwing! Fox tried desperately to avoid the missiles, and succeeded in dodging a few but suddenly a barrage of missiles approached from all sides. There was no hope of escape for the pilot. The missiles tore his wings off effortlessly, and Fox lost control of his faithful aircraft. He shouted as he began spiraling downwards towards Andross. His final thoughts were _I'm coming Dad. Some hero I turned out to be huh?_ Then his ship exploded in a blinding ball of flame, and that was the end of Fox McCloud.

Fox bolted upright in his bed, soaked in a cold sweat. He lay back down, panting. He hoped his team would make it through the battle at Venom. His wife Krystal was slumbering peacefully, blissfully unaware of her husbands worries. His friend Falco would be probably in the most danger. He was almost always criticizing one thing or another, and was headstrong and had a nasty stubborn streak.

Slippy, the team's mechanic, would be in the least danger. He 'fought' in battles, if you consider fighting running and hiding. Slippy was the most sensitive member of the group. If he saw even a rubber band fly past him, he would run away screaming bloody murder. Peppy, the team's oldest member, didn't fight much anymore. His excuse was that he was getting too old for that kind stuff. He was, instead the team's advisor. He had been on the original Star Fox team, with Fox's father James McCloud and Pigma Dengar. Pigma had betrayed the team, and went to Andross's side. Andross had shot down James over Venom, but Peppy had managed to escape, and trained Fox in the ways of the mercenary.

Fox was least worried about himself though. He knew he could handle himself in battle. His was the best pilot and land fighter on the team.

Fox was the most worried about Krystal, though. If anything happened to her, Fox would never forgive himself. Krystal was the team's gentlest member. She was always willing to lend a paw, and always brought Fox and the team back up when they were down. He checked the clock next to him on the night stand. It read 2:19a.m. Fox sighed. If he wanted to do well on the mission, he would have to get some sleep. So, groaning and yawning, Fox stretched and went back to sleep.

END PROLOGUE

CHAPTER 1

BATTLE AT BASE

Fox McCloud hurled a yellow grenade at the advancing enemies. "Take cover!" he shouted, alerting his teammates of the flashing ball. It exploded, and Fox used the fiery blast to check his combat status. He turned on his PDA and it displayed his as well as his team's conditions. Fox's shields were at 72, because he had taken a shot for his friend Falco. The blue avian, cocky and arrogant shouted a quick "Mind your own business Fox!" before rushing off to battle again. Fox quickly checked the other's shields. The PDA read:

Fox McCloud's shields: 72

Krystal McCloud's shields: 89

Falco Lombardi's shields: 5

Slippy Toads' shields: maximum

A smile crept onto Fox's muzzle. He knew how Slippy had not yet taken a hit. The toad generally ran and hid in a corner of sorts, while the others fought their battles. The smile quickly faded and was replaced by a frown as he began worrying about Falco. If Falco died today, it would be his entire fault. What if Falco died and the rest of the team was killed, too? What if-

Fox was spared from further worrying by Krystal.

Krystal, being a telepath, could read people's minds and emotions, as well as communicate telepathically. She took a moment to converse with Fox. In her mind she said**_" Fox don't worry about Falco, he is fine, and anyway I am more worried about you."_**

Fox replied with **_"You are right, I am probably worried over nothing. Let's just get this mission over with." _**

With that he ran, SMG blazing, into the almost never ending crowd of enemies. "Peppy," he called up to the Great Fox, their mother ship once the fighting had thinned out a little. "Send me a Landmaster will ya?"

"On its way!" Peppy said. "What's the situation?" he asked the vulpine. Fox replied with "Well I got my hands full, but what else is new?"

Suddenly, an enemy troop snuck up behind him and shot him.**_" Fox! Are you alright?"_** she asked him, concern evident in the vixen's voice.

"**_Yeah, I'll be okay, that creep just took my shields down to _**64,**_ that's all," _**the fox assured her. **_"Really, Krystal, I'll be fine, I just might need ROB to patch me up, that's all"_** he said comfortingly. Then Fox noticed a slight shimmering in the air near him. Then he saw the faint outline of a machine, the Landmaster. Finally, the entire tank became visible. It hovered in the air for a few seconds, and then dropped right into a crowd of Venomians. "Great to see the targeting systems is as good as ever," Fox commented.

Fox checked the ammo for his SMG, and the ammo read out said that the gun was empty. He dropped the useless weapon to the ground, and pulled out a pair of pistols from his survival pack. "Falco, I'm gonna go after the Landmaster. Can you cover me?" Fox radioed to his teammate. "Sure thing, Foxy," Falco replied. He shook his head. Fox was too modest. If he were in that position, he wouldn't ask for help. He'd go in guns blazing. Then again, he thought, Fox was down to only pistols. He chuckled. Fox used too much punishment on the enemy. Falco then took out his sniper rifle and assembled it in less than 50 seconds. That was a record time for anybody in the military, or out. Falco's finger trembled over the trigger. _Should I kill him now? He said whenever possible, but... this rifle uses lasers. The others would know. Venomians still use bullets. _Falco sighed. This Argument was always boring. He had to do it sometime. But when? Spared from further argument, Falco saw Fox reach the Landmaster, after annihilating the crowd. Fox hopped into the tank, and began crushing the enemies. "Peppy," Fox said. "Bring the Great Fox up and charge the main guns," he requested. "Why?" Peppy asked. His battle strategy wasn't what it used to be. "I want you to fire the guns at the bases and blow them up. My Landmaster isn't really doing any damage." "Ahhh…." Peppy said, realization dawning in his eyes. "I knew it all along, Fox," Peppy lied, hoping to repair his ego. "Sure you did Pep," Fox said, seeing right through the rabbit's feeble attempt at a lie. ROB, the team's artificial intelligence, or robot, manned the guns. All of the bases were reduced down to crisps in seconds.

END CHAPTER 1

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Until next time...


	2. Mission Complete!

_**The Second Adventure**_

**By: Foxdude 33**

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox.

Hi! I'm Foxdude33 and this is my first fanfic. Enjoy.

CHAPTER 2

MISSION COMPLETE

"Peppy, get me General Pepper, please," Fox said as they flew into Great Fox's hanger. "Already on it," the elderly hare said as they entered the briefing room. Suddenly, a basset hound's face appeared on the holographic projector. "General Pepper," Fox said as he saluted. "Ah, Fox, I was just about to contact you. Am I right in assuming that the mission was successful?" "Well, yeah," Falco butted in rudely. "Otherwise we wouldn't be talkin' to ya right now!" "Well um, yes, heh, yeah." Pepper stuttered. "Falco shut your beak for once!" "Whatever, Fox, but he did ask a pretty stupid question." "Sorry, General," Slippy squeaked. "Fox, we have received a damage report of the enemy barracks," Pepper said. "20 of the buildings were heavily damaged, and the remaining facilities were all destroyed." "Very good Fox! Your mission fee has been forwarded into your account at the Cornerian military bank. "Alright! We can finally get a vacation from this ship!" Krystal exclaimed happily. "Yeah and maybe recruit more team members," Peppy said. The others murmured their agreement. Going their separate ways, everyone went to their various destinations.

Falco made his way to his quarters. Fox followed behind him. He had heard from Peppy that, before James had been betrayed, Pigma had been acting suspicious. Falco was doing the same thing, only he wasn't showing it. Falco paused, and Fox froze instantly.

"Hmmm… stupid cockroaches…" he muttered. Then, as if nothing had happened, he started back to his room. Fox crept down the polished, highly lit hallways; sure he was safe when Falco burst out "Will you quit following me around McCloud!"

"I wasn't!" Fox said from behind Falco. "I was just going to my room."

"Yeah, but we passed it about ten minutes ago. If you wanna lie to me, think of a better one next time, idiot!"

Falco quickly opened his door and pulled it shut. With a _hiss_, the door locked in front of a bewildered Fox McCloud.

"_What's his problem?" _Fox thought angrily as he made a ten minute trip back to his room, which he and Krystal shared.

"What happened, Fox?" Krystal asked as he entered the room.

"Nothing, Krystal," Fox mumbled

"Don't lie to me Fox."

"Fine… I guess everyone heard, especially Peppy. Have you noticed that Falco been moodier than usual lately?" Krystal nodded her head, her earrings swaying with the motion.

"Well, I think he's plotting something. Could you- -" "No Fox, I couldn't. Falco's a friend, and I don't like invading people's privacy."

"But- -" Again, Fox was cut off by Krystal, who muttered a good night. Sighing wearily, Fox got into bed beside her, and after a lot of tossing and turning, he drifted off to sleep.

END CHAPTER 2


	3. Vacation

_**The Second Adventure**_

**By: Foxdude 33**

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox.

Hi! I'm Foxdude33 and this is my first fanfic. Enjoy.

CHAPTER 3

VACATION

"So, Fox where do you think we should go?" Krystal asked her husband as they entered their room. Fox thought a moment then said," Maybe we could go to Sauria?" "That would be perfect, Fox!" Krystal said. "I don't know about you, but all this fighting has me worn out," Fox said. "Let's go to bed," Fox said tiredly. "I agree," Krystal whispered back, because she was so drowsy. The two vulpines then clambered into their bed and immediately fell asleep.

Krystal woke up in the morning, completely refreshed, did her morning ritual, and went down to the kitchen to fix herself a bite to eat. As she entered the kitchen, she saw Peppy cooking some eggs, bacon, and toast. As soon as he saw the vixen he announced, "Fox is waiting for you in the dining room, he woke up about ten minutes before you did," the old-timer said. "Thanks, Peppy", she replied, as she took a plate from the rabbit. "You're very welcome," he said. She entered the dining room to find Fox with a plate in front of him. "Good morning, Krys," he greeted her. "Hello Fox" she cooed back. "So, what time should we leave for Sauria?" Fox asked. "Maybe after we finish our meal," Krystal said. "Alright then I'll go get our stuff packed" Fox commented. "Hey, Peppy, the General didn't say how long we are vacationing, did he?" Krystal asked. "He said to enjoy yourselves until he contacts you," Peppy answered. "Okay, thanks," she said, then resumed her meal.

ONE HOUR LATER…..

One hour later, two Arwings had just landed on Sauria. Just as soon as the vulpine couple hopped out of their crafts there came a deafening cry of "**FOOOOXXXX**". Suddenly, a huge dinosaur came bounding out from behind a small hill. It was none other than Tricky, Prince of the Earthwalker dinosaur tribe. "Ooofff! Tricky you've grown….. So heavy….. Ouch." Krystal giggled as Fox tried in vain to lift the young dinosaur off of his body. "Oops… sorry Fox didn't mean to do that to you," the dinosaur stated, climbing off of the vulpine. "It's okay Tricky we know you didn't mean to," said Krystal, over her laughing fit. Fox got up and clung to Krystal until his world stopped shaking. "You are pretty dizzy, aren't you, Fox?" she asked her husband. "Fox, Fox, you have GOT to meet my new sister," Tricky said excitedly.

"Didn't know you had a sister, Tricky," Krystal said, surprised. "Well, duh, that's because she was just born a week ago" "Congrats" Fox said. So together the trio walked to Earthwalker Palace. Fox and Krystal entered the King and Queen's Royal Chamber. When they stepped into the royalty's presence, Krystal nervously ran up and took Fox's hand. The Queen noticed Fox and Krystal's marriage rings, and said in a surprised voice," Why, Fox, I didn't know that you got married." "Yeah, we've been together about four months," Fox said. "Well, congratulations," the King Earthwalker said in his booming voice. "What brings you to our planet, McClouds?" "Well, we just got done with a mission, on the planet Venom," Fox said matter-of-factly. "And the General Pepper said that we could take a vacation," Krystal finished for him. "We are so thankful that you two saved our planet," the king said graciously. "You're welcome," Fox and Krystal said at the same time. "Fox, do you think that we could visit Krazoa Palace?" Krystal asked him. "Sure." he replied. "Mom, is it okay if I go with Fox?" Tricky asked. "Yes you may," the elderly dino said. "After we come back, could they see Kara?" "Yes they can," said the Queen.

Fox and Krystal began running off, the prince trailing behind them.

END CHAPTER 3


	4. A New Krazoa

_**The Second Adventure**_

**By: Foxdude 33**

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox.

Hi! I'm Foxdude33 and this is my first fanfic. Enjoy.

CHAPTER 4

THE LOST KRAZOA

"Does it ALWAYS rain here?" Fox asked, slightly exasperated. "It sure seems to, doesn't it hon?" Krystal replied. "Yeah, I heard Mom say something about the spirits liking rain a lot," Tricky answered. "It helps them channel power to that crystal up at the top of the palace." Krystal winced slightly, that crystal was where she had been trapped for about a week. After that week, Fox had saved her, defeated Andross, after that, she had joined Star Fox. About a month after she had been on the team, Fox and Krystal had gotten married. She explained all this to Tricky, who had never been able to go to the palace, because the Warpstone couldn't warp dinosaurs. They had gotten to the palace by flying. Tricky ran ahead of the vulpine couple, who were drinking in the beautiful scenery.

"Wow," Fox breathed. "It's nicer here." "If you hadn't said it, I probably would have," Krystal told him, looking at a beautiful garden just ahead of them. "Fox look over there!" Krystal suddenly yelled pointing directly across from where they were. Krystal drew a small, slender, blue object from inside her backpack. It was Krystal's Staff. Krystal grasped it in her hand and reacting to its wielder's will, the staff extended. Fox took out a blaster from his backpack. Then both vulpines rushed at the pack of hostile dinosaurs. Upon seeing the vulpines, the sharpclaw gave grunts of "Foxes! Me kill!" The couple took out their weapons and wreaked havoc on the crowd. All the Sharpclaw were instantly obliterated. "Thanks, guys. I thought those Sharpclaw were my friends." Tricky explained, scared. Suddenly a Krazoa Spirit appeared before the vulpine couple.

"What's going on?" Fox asked. "Peace hero. I mean you no harm," the mighty specter said. "Then what are you doing here?" Krystal asked. "I have a test for you and your spouse. There is a prophecy that a pair of animals from another world will come from the sky in birds of metal, and deliver us from a great evil, named Dakar." "Didn't Fox defeat that guy to get the last Spellstone?" Krystal asked. "The magma that demon fell into only strengthened it. Didn't you wonder what it was doing in a giant hole of lava?" the Krazoa questioned the male. "Well, of course, but I never imagined that it got its strength from lava." He answered. "It's not the lava that gives it power, but rather the heat that the magma generates.

"Oh, I get it!" Fox said triumphantly. "We have to get Dakar outta the heat and he'll be weakened enough that we can destroy him." "Not quite, young one. Dakar gets his power from the elements," said the spirit smugly. "But then how do they kill it?" Tricky, who had apparently been listening, interjected." "That is unknown, even to the Krazoa. The prophecy said that they would draw a sacred power from within each other's souls and harness that power to defeat the evil that has threatened Sauria since it was formed many moons ago." Suddenly Fox, Krystal, and Tricky felt a familiar tugging at their feet. Suddenly they were lifted bodily from the ground, and sucked into a portal! The last thing the trio heard before they were warped back to the Royal Palace was an echo, forever repeating "Good luck, heroes. I am sure you will need it." Then all dissolved into black for the adventurers…..

END CHAPTER 4


	5. A new mission

_**The Second Adventure**_

**By: Foxdude 33**

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox.

Hi! I'm Foxdude33 and this is my first fanfic. Enjoy.

CHAPTER 5

THE NEW MISSION

Fox awoke to a headache, and found himself lying on the ground next to Krystal, who apparently was still unconscious. He cast a quick glance around his surroundings, and saw Tricky asleep a few meters away. Fox got up stiffly, and then walked over to the prince. Once he reached the dinosaur he checked for a pulse, but he didn't feel anything except for the feeble pulsing that was heartbeat. Then he did the same procedure to Krystal, and found her alive. Only then did he take a good look around where he was.

He appeared to be on a beach. He could hear the soft, soothing sound of the ocean near where he sat. "We must be in Cape Claw," he said to no one in particular. Then he noticed Krystal stirring in her sleep, which met that she was about to wake up. "W-Where am I?" he heard her say.

He walked over to the vixen and crouched beside her. "How are you?" he asked softly. Krystal only groaned in response. Then she clutched at her head. "I have a bad headache," she said. After a slight pause she continued, "I am hungry as well, but other than that I am fine." Just then Fox's stomach gave a loud grumble. "Do you need anything, Krys?" he questioned. "Not really." "Alright I am going to go get something to eat, since we are both- Fox was suddenly by cut off by the sound of someone moving towards them. They both twisted their spines to see who it was, and were startled to see the Chief Lightfoot sprinting towards them.

"I need your help" the tall, slender ruler said. "With what?" Fox asked curiously. "A mysterious group of creatures has come to Lightfoot Village. They destroy land and murder our young. They also sent me to find you, Fox McCloud, and your vixen, and challenged you to a duel." "Who are they?" Fox demanded angrily. Whoever murdered children for mere pleasure would pay dearly. "We do not know their names, but they are very ruthless." The chief said sadly. He continued by saying," They have enslaved most of our village, but kept me as messenger for them. We were easily defeated by these strangers. They bring a message. They have captured the Cloudrunner Fortress. They call themselves Star Wolf."

Fox growled in anger. Star Wolf had to be stopped, before more death occurred. During the Lylat Wars, Star Wolf had destroyed an entire town on Zoness.

Suddenly, Fox's wrist comp beeped loudly. He activated it, and Peppy's grizzled features were displayed overhead. "Fox, where the heck were you? I tried contacting you for hours, but you never picked up. Are you okay? Where are you? How is Kryst-" Peppy's ranting was cut off suddenly by the chief. "Hey, rabbit," he said suddenly. "**SHUT UP!** I am describing a problem to these- he drew his head up proudly. "Heroes" "Well Fox it sounds like you have a new mission. Here is General Pepper." The aged hare's face disappeared, this time replaced by the General's slightly younger face. "Fox! How much are they paying you, because this had better be important" the general said. "Actually, general, they aren't paying me anything. I'm doing this on my own" said Fox modestly. Pepper nearly popped a vein, he got so angry. "**NOTHING! THAT MEANS YOU CAME DOWN TO THIS GOD-FORSAKEN PLANET, JUST TO SCAMPER AROUND DOING GOOD DEEDS? YOU ARE A MERCANARY FOX! WHERE DID FOX McCLOUD OF THE LYLAT WARS GO? HUH? AND DON'T ACT SO SAPPY, FOX, THE DINOSAURS ARE OF NO USE, THEY CAN'T DO ANYTHING FOR US!" **Breathing heavily and glaring at Fox, apoplectic with rage, the general awaited Fox's answer impatiently. "Actually, general,Star Wolf has been sighted, is that good enough for you?" Fox shouted back, just as fiercely. "Go ahead then McCloud" the dog said nastily. "Continue with your _precious mission. _I won't try to stop you. Pepper out."

With that the general abruptly stopped communications with Fox. Krystal shot a worried glance at Fox, who appeared to be lost in thought. The general had been a great friend to Fox for many years, and it was unlike him to start yelling like that. But Krystal had sensed different brain patterns then general Pepper usually broadcasted. This troubled her greatly, and she sensed that Leon was somehow controlling Pepper. She ran this theory by Fox, who seemed to find it believable. "It makes sense…. What with Leon being a psychotic torturer, he could have done some experiments to Pepper, warped his mind." Fox drew in a deep breath, and, his voice quavering said," I hate to say it, but to get to Leon; we may have to kill the good general." Suddenly the feelings Fox thought he had control over exploded, and he broke down sobbing into Krystal's shoulder. "There, there, Fox," she whispered, stroking his forehead softly. "Everything will be okay. Just go to sleep." Fox then slowly drifted off to a troubled sleep, Krystal following close behind him. The last thing Fox thought was: _"Tricky..."_

END CHAPTER 5


	6. Star Wolf Skirmish

_**The Second Adventure**_

**By: Foxdude 33**

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox.

Hi! I'm Foxdude33 and this is my first fanfic. Enjoy.

CHAPTER 6

STAR WOLF SKIRMISH

Leon looked at his work and smiled. Encaged in front of him, was none other than the Queen Cloudrunner. He and the rest of Star Wolf had just recently captured the floating mass that was Cloudrunner Fortress. It would have been harder, but with their superior technology, Star Wolf had easily captured the tribe. Now the capitol was completely at their mercy. "Please, let my children go. They've done nothing to you or your kind." The Queen sobbed. "Please, I beg of you" she cried.

"**SHUT UP"** Wolf O'Donnel, the infamous leader of Star Wolf roared at her, from the opposite side of the room that Leon was standing in. It was intricately designed, with lacings of gold and silver entwining itself into the many pillars that held up the structure. The room itself was made of marble, and the pillars were made of an unknown element. The lupine turned on his heel and left the room but left a threat lingering in the air behind him. "If you try to escape Queen," he said menacingly

"Then we WILL kill you as well as your precious children." Leon grinned at the thought. He would make the Queen watch while he slit each of their throats and would FORCE her to watch as they struggled, suffocating on their own blood. Then he would put her out of her misery with a blaster shot to the head. He couldn't wait for that day. The only thing that would make him happier would to execute the team Star Fox. He was interrupted from his sick thoughts by the sound of whimpering.

"I thought that Wolf told you to shut your mouth, bird" he said in his strange voice. "Refuse to and I just might kill one of your kids. You do remember what happened last time, right?"

The Queen nodded, shaking from the mere memory of the event. Pigma had taken one of her seven children out of the cage that the remaining six were in, and shot it the head. It would have survived, but Wolf came up and shot in the spine from behind, severing it and ending its life. Leon had sat back and enjoyed the show, while the Queen had sobbed into her wing.

Suddenly the aforementioned hog, Pigma entered the chamber from a trench dug in the ground. Star Wolf was storing all treasure they found in the pit, and, when they destroyed Star Fox, they would sell all the stuff in the black market. Then they would be rich. They would never have to kill again. _But,_ thought Wolf, _if you are good at something, why stop?_ The only answer was a laugh of pure malice. "Hey, Boss?" Pigma yelled back to Wolf. "Did we accidentally send a distress signal, because it looks like your old_ buddy_ is here." Upon hearing this, Wolf rushed back into the room and to the balcony conveniently placed by the window. Sure enough, two Arwings were fast approaching this fortress of rock and water.

Wolf ran and got his gatling gun from the rack it was hanging lazily on, and opened fire at the enemy.

MEANWHILE IN FOX'S COCKPIT…

Fox was weaving left and right trying to dodge the lasers from Wolf's lethal weapon. But the lupine's speed and accuracy was too much even for Fox to handle. The pilot managed to dodge a few shots before getting to the pathetic cover of the side of the structure. Krystal was not as fortunate, though. "My shields have taken a real beating, Fox," Krystal said to him over the Comm. Unit. "I'll cover you, Krystal," Fox said to her. Fox piloted his Arwing to loop around to have a clear shot at Wolf. Wolf, who was busy engaging Krystal, did not notice the red sphere of energy coming at him until the last second.

Wolf ducked and rolled just in time to avoid being burned a crisp. Suddenly, he whirled around to face Fox. Pigma, who had been sneaking over to his rocket launcher, grabbed his favorite weapon, and aimed the business end at Fox. The stupid swine didn't even stop to consider the fact that Krystal might be right behind him. He didn't either, until Krystal let loose a hyper charge shot. The hyper charge shot was exactly like the normal charge shot except for the fact that it was twice as fast and three times as powerful. Pigma turned around and got nailed head-on by the attack. The traitor of James McCloud was dead before he even had time to hit the ground, smoking. "That's for my dad," Fox said under his breath.

Suddenly Wolf stopped his firing and put his hands up. "I give up, Fox!" Wolf shouted up to him.

"Yeah, right, Wolf," Fox retorted. "I mean it Fox. I have done stuff in my life that makes cringe. I have regret for every single fur I've destroyed." "Fox," Krystal said. "I'm reading his brain waves. He isn't lying to us."

"TRAITOR!" Leon yelled suddenly. He had been hiding in the shadows, watching the battle. He hadn't even felt sorry for Pigma when he met his fate. He took out a sword, which had been lying at the side of a corpse of a dead Cloudrunner, and rushed at Wolf, who calmly sidestepped the charge. Leon aimed a sideswipe kick at Wolf's shins. His attack landed, and Wolf toppled to the floor. Leon raised his katana and plunged it down, straight at where Wolf's heart was. Just as the sword was about to plunge deep into his chest, Wolf caught in the palms of his hands. Leon and Wolf struggled desperately, each hoping to defeat each other. "I knew you were going to betray us," Leon spat. "You were only leader of this team because Andross chose you to be. I should have been chosen! You were always the one who hesitated before going into battle. You're just not strong enough to be a leader. I'll prove it to Andrew when I kill you!" Andrew was Andross's brother, who had taken chain of command after Fox killed over Sauria.

"You won't be returning to Andrew, Leon!" Wolf said, just as fiercely. With a sudden burst of strength, he threw Leon off of him, and, in process, knocked the Gatling gun off the edge of the balcony. Wolf rushed at Leon with a blinding speed, coming up with a roundhouse kick in the process. It caught Leon square in the chest, and sent him staggering. Clutching at his chest, Leon retreated a few steps, and hit the wall of the balcony. "You lose Leon," Wolf said, grinning. Leon, whose eyes were glazing over, nodded absently. Wolf grinned and performed a flying uppercut. There was a dull cracking noise, Leon's jaw had snapped. The blow sent Leon crumpling to the floor in a bloody heap of flesh. Then Wolf picked up the unconscious Leon, said," I told you….. you aren't returning to Andrew." And then he dropped him over the edge of the jagged stone balcony. Then the redeemed Wolf O'Donnel watched the soon-to-be corpse of Leon Palwoski fall into the jagged rocks below. Leon got smaller and smaller and the crashing ocean with its great salty spray came up to meet him. That was the last anyone ever saw of the lizard.

"And that's the last of you, bastard." Wolf stared at the sea.

"Wolf how would you like to be a member of Star Fox?" the team's leader himself asked. "That would be … great Fox sure!" Wolf said the last few lines with enormous gusto.

LATER……..

Wolf, along with Star Fox, was heading back to Corneria City. Wolf was kept under heavy guard by none other than ten Marines. This, he had to admit, deserved. After all every animal one Corneria was thinking of him as Wolf O'Donnel, the destroyer of people. _Can we trust him? Can _I _trust Wolf O'Donnel? _Fox sighed. Conversations with himself were never much fun. He always knew what he was going to say. But, sometimes it helped him get out of problems. "Peppy!" Fox spoke into his comm. Unit. "Yes Fox?" Peppy asked. "Remember that little thing about new team members?" Peppy nodded. "Well…. I'll let you two get reacquainted." Fox turned the image scanner so that Wolf was included in the picture aboard the Great Fox. "WOLF O'DONNEL!" Peppy was so surprised, he nearly had a heartattack. _Does Fox think this is some kind of sick joke! _Peppy thought in a mixture of revolt and confusion. "Fox! Get rid of this filthy _scum_ RIGHT NOW!" Peppy half shouted, half whispered. "Peppy shut _up_!" Fox growled. "Wolf here betrayed his fellow team members, and killed Leon single-handedly." "What Fox? You think he can be forgiven? He and his kind _destroyed_ _your own father_ and many innocent Cornerians otherwise."

"No Peppy." Fox said firmly. "You're wrong." "Yo, what's with all the noise, old-timer?" Falco had entered the affair over the newest member. He pushed Peppy out of his way. Falco's eyes widened in shock. "What the? Wolf O'Donnel? Fox, what's this scumbag doing in same _room _with you? I thought you two were enemies!" "Actually Falco, Wolf's turned over a new leaf, and I've offered him a place on the team." Wolf, who had been sitting in silence the entire time, nodded at Fox's response. "Okay McCloud, but if he hurts anyone _I'll _take him _down_." Peppy couldn't believe this. Falco was actually letting Wolf on the team? He couldn't believe it. There only seemed to be one way out of this mess.

His old and scarred mind finally snapped. He lifted his blaster and, in one fluid movement, placed it against his temple. "Fox," he said. "I'm sorry for doing this, but I see no more reason for me to live." Falco, getting an idea of what Peppy was about to do, tackled him to the ground. "What the heck are you doin'? Crazy old fool!" Falco cried. "Falco… you don't understand. I've spent my whole life fighting his kind, and now Fox wants to invite his rival onto this team! I'd rather face death than see Wolf O'Donnel on the Star Fox team!" Peppy said.

Peppy kicked Falco off of his body. Falco flew through the air and hit the new plexa-glass window. Something cracked, but it definitely was not the window. Peppy grabbed his gun from back off the floor, pressed it to his chest, and squeezed the trigger. Slippy heard shots and came running into the room. There he stood in a numb shock, senseless to the screams and cries, salty tears running down his fat green cheeks, mixing with the blood beneath him. He collapsed, out cold, next to the quickly cooling corpse of one he had thought a friend for so long….

END CHAPTER 6


	7. The funeral

_**The Second Adventure**_

**By: Foxdude 33**

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox.

Hi! I'm Foxdude33 and this is my first fanfic. Enjoy.

CHAPTER 7

FUNERAL

The day was bleak and windy. Perfect weather for a funeral. Fox sighed and put his head in his hands, tail drooped over the hard metal chair that he was seated in. About one hundred people were attending his old friend's funeral. Even Falco, who usually acted like nothing fazed him, was in tears. Peppy's blow to him had cracked his arm, and he was wearing a blue cast that matched his feathers quite nicely. It was two weeks after the horrible event that claimed Peppy's life. Wolf, along with everybody was dressed in jet-black. "… And now some words, from Fox McCloud, who knew Peppy best," said a gray colored squirrel. He was the only one who didn't seem depressed about Peppy's death. The strangely chipper squirrel quickly scurried off the stage to let Fox through, his arms crossed in front of him impatiently.

Fox sucked in a deep breath. _What should I say?_ He thought sadly. His spirits were cheered slightly, though by Wolf, who whispered a soft "You can do it, McCloud." Fox rose, spirit renewed, and began a slow, steady walk to the dais that the squirrel had previously been occupying.

"When my father died…" Fox began. "Peppy was there for me. He gave me his home, and became sort of a grandfather to me. He was, as I'm sure you guys all know, a member of the original Star Fox team. He also became my mentor when I first formed the second Star Fox. He always offered great advice, and was a great cook for the team. He was also a good father for his daughter, Claire." Fox drew a breath and continued with:" I know that he's happier now, wherever he is. I'll miss you old buddy." Everybody stood and clapped after Fox finished his speech. Claire approached Fox, tears shimmering in her eyes. She managed to gasp out through her tears:" That was a beautiful eulogy. I cried straight through the whole thing." The Star Fox team approached the tombstone with a silent reverence. It read

PEPPY HARE

2400- 2469

GREATLY LOVED. GONE TOO SOON.

With that, three of the team approached their Arwings, and a certain other one went to his Wolfen. They didn't stop for autographs or anything else, and headed straight for the Great Fox at max velocity. Thus ended another funeral for Fox McCloud, but he didn't know another one was coming fast…

END CHAPTER 7

Sorry about the shortness guys. I've been busy...


	8. Betrayal

_**The Second Adventure**_

**By: Foxdude 33**

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox.

CHAPTER 8

BETRYAL

When the team got to the Great Fox, everyone went to their quarters except for Fox. The vulpine made his way to the Security Center.

Once he got there, he typed into the large computer. SECURITY CAMERA C/ BEGIN CHECK COMMAND

"Command acknowledged," the computer said in a crisp voice. Fox turned on the monitor and the screen lit up a picture of Falco's room.

Falco's VAC was on. He seemed to be talking to an unknown creature, but Fox couldn't tell who it was because it was cloaked in shadows.

Fox turned the volume feature on, and the figure's voice came flooding through the speakers.

"Why haven't you taken him out yet? I said hurt him however possible, but you haven't made a single move."

"Look, I'll do it as soon as I can okay? All those times, someone would've noticed me if I tried to do it."

"I didn't say take him out, I said to weaken him. He is MY kill!"

"Okay scaly, don't freak out! I'll think of something."

"For your sake, you had better. If you don't, the consequences will be dire."

Falco turned off the VAC, and climbed into his bed. Sighing, he locked his door, and the camera turned off with that command.

Cursing furiously, Fox mentally kicked himself. Last year, Slippy had suggested an added privacy feature. He suggested that, when someone locked their door, the camera would turn off, allowing the person extra privacy. Fox had agreed, seeing no way he would have to spy on someone. Now he needed to more then ever and he couldn't.

"Dang!" he muttered, turning off the computer, he exited through the door, making his way to his room. When he opened the door, he found Krystal already asleep. Climbing into his bed moodily, he fell asleep.

The next morning when Fox awoke, he made his sleepy way to the lounge. It was only then he stopped to consider looking at the clock. It read 4:19.

Suddenly he began to hear shuffling footsteps. Ears perking, he turned around and there, was Krystal. Behind her was Falco, his blaster pointed at her head!

"Falco, what the heck are you doing? Put your blaster away!"

"Not a chance McCloud! I'm gonna kill her, and you'll have to watch her die."

Fox didn't respond. He simply dashed towards the armory, which was thankfully only a few meters away. Once he reached the door that concealed the weapons, he hurriedly wrenched it open and grabbed a spare blaster. He heard the sound of a gun being fired, and he froze. Looking down, he noticed a faint red glow on the floor. Falco was ready to kill! Spinning around, suddenly, he noticed Falco at the door. His blaster was in his hands, and Krystal was on the floor, a shot wound in her chest. "You killed Krystal," Fox said, feeling cold and numbness sweeping over him.

"You killed her!" he repeated, as if saying so could bring her back to life.

"YOU KILLED HER!" he suddenly screamed, forgetting about self-control. Looking up, he saw Falco's gun pointing straight at his face. He looked up further.

He saw Falco standing there right next to him, a cruel smile on his beak. He looked past even further and he saw Wolf and Slippy at the door, blasters at the ready. Wolf slowly moved his hand toward the trigger. Once it reached its destination, he squeezed off a single shot, aiming straight for Falco's head. He missed by a mere centimeter.

Cursing, Falco turned around, just in time to be tackled by a flash of grey fur. Wolf and Falco grappled each other on the floor in a deadly struggle. Fox noticed Falco's blaster pointing at Wolf's knee. "Look out!" he cried, but it was too late. Falco fired, and the shot actually penetrated through Wolf's knee. Blood spattered everywhere, on the floor, the ceiling, and even Slippy.

"Wolf!" the toad squeaked, running toward Falco, who had two blasters pointed at him. Twisting around quickly, Falco tore the two blasters straight from Fox's paws, breaking one of his arms in the process. He pointed one at Slippy, and he fired. It hit the toad in the stomach, and he crumpled onto the floor. He looked from Wolf, struggling to get up, his face sweaty with effort, to Fox, who was lying there one the ground, tears tracing a wet path through his fur, to Slippy, lying unconscious on the floor, blood blossoming under his shirt.

"Kill me, Falco," said Fox hollowly. "That's what you're here for, right?"

"No. I promised my employer to spare until you face him."

Whimpering pitifully, Fox sniffled.

"Why'd you do it Falco? Why?"

"I'm a merc, Fox. I work for the money, not some fat, old goody-goody."

"Who hired you?"

To this the avian replied "I can't really tell you that."

Falco suddenly moved away from Fox, and began sprinting towards the hanger. Once he reached it, he fired up his Arwing, and began making preparations to leave. He was just about to take off, when a shot fired from behind him.

Turning around in his cockpit, he saw wolf with a shotgun pointed at the Arwing. Falco smiled. He fired up the booster, and actually boosted out of the Great Fox. The sudden heat lit Wolf O'Donnel's body on fire. He didn't live much longer after that though, as his body was quickly consumed by the flames.

There he lay dead, a black and nearly unrecognizable carcass. On the way out of the hanger bay, Falco opened up a transmission to his mysterious employer.

"Is he dead?" came a voice through the speakers.

"No, but he'll wish he was." Came Falco's confident reply.

"Good. You've done well, Mr. Lombardi, very well indeed."

Meanwhile on the Great Fox, a vulpine was lying on the cold metal floors of a lounging room. He was in apparent good health, aside from his bruises and scratches that marred his face. He was lying next to a cerulean vixen, who had a shot wound in the chest of her body. There was a large collection of blood, but the male didn't notice. He sluggishly got up, wincing from the sudden pain his arm was producing. His eyes traveled through the scene that met them, searching for everything and nothing. His eyes noted the body of his mate, but his brain didn't notice. It was too numb. All it could do was respond to his injured arm, and the feelings within his being. The vulpine paused, gathering his strength for a few seconds before calling out, "ROB!"

"How may I be of service, Captain?"

"Check the bio readouts in this room. I can't really do it myself, my arm is broken. Get bandages for it, and get Slippy to the medical bay."

"Commands acknowledged. Scanning…. The biological heat signatures suggest that Slippy Toad is in a state of shock. He is unconscious."

The robot then moved toward Krystal.

"Scanning… Krystal McCloud. Life signs are at a flat line. No heat signatures detected. Cause of death seems to be a blaster wound. Blaster wound came from model 89CYO9. Blaster registered to Falco Lombardi. Shall I destroy the corpse?"

"Yes," said Fox in a weary, quivering voice. "After you attend to me and Slippy, anyway."

"Affirmative."

Fox's vision swam, and his eyes felt prickly. His heart was broken; he needed to find the pieces. He picked his way over to a nearby sofa, allowing ROB to tend to his arm. He didn't hear or even feel the robot though. His mind was away, replaying the times he and his love had shared.

He was back at Krazoa palace, gazing at a beautiful vixen trapped in a crystal. He was at he same place, and she was absorbing the spirits. She was absorbing too many, and the crystal exploded. She was falling, but not for long, as he extended her staff to stop her from falling into a deep plunge. She was on his ship, having just entered the conference room. She was standing in a brightly lit room, beaming as Fox pinned a gleaming badge to her chest.

They were at their honeymoon, and….

"Fox…."

The mentioned vulpine jerked his head up looking about. His observant eyes searched for the creature that had spoken. He saw no one. Sighing, he turned again, to his original position, head tucked between his knees, staring at nothing. A hand clapped to his shoulder softly. It was eerily cold, as though it had been in the winter snow awhile. Shuddering, Fox slowly moved his head up to look who it was.

Gasping, he recognized the figure. He would recognize it anywhere.

"Dad?"

END CHAPTER 8

VAC stands for Visual Audio Communicator


	9. A little visit

CHAPTER 9

A LITTLE VISIT…

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox.

James was quick to the draw.

"Hello, son. I bet you're wondering what the heck's happening, but I can't explain that easily. All I can tell you is that I am here to help you. I was spying on Venom when that traitor, Pigma, shot me down. I never came back because Peppy knew what had happened, and would kill me on sight. Now that he's dead, I thought it would be safe. I came back because I was sick of my life…. After I saw what Falco did to that vixen, I figured you would need help getting revenge. Am I in?" James finished, finally, after a solid two minutes of speaking.

Fox stared at the hand that was offered to him from his kneeling position, and grasped it firmly. After doing that, he used his momentum and leverage to quickly pull himself to a stand, and after that, enshroud the fox in his arms.

"You're in." he whispered in his ear.

UNKNOWN SPACE ZONE….

Falco's Arwing cruised smoothly trough that unending night, known as space. Lifting his right hand, he punched in a few certain numbers on the cockpit's portable VAC.

After a few seconds, a fuzzy image illuminated the dim area.

"Yes?" the voice boomed.

"I'm nearing the planet. It _is _Rumanian, right?"

"Yes, that's right…"

Falco plowed toward the aforementioned sphere, and came upon a near-invisible silhouette, etched _into_ the darkened face of the planet.

He flew down in a steep dive, and leveled out just in time to come into a smooth landing inside an extremely cramped docking bay. Numerous tiny robots scuttled around, fixing sparking mechanisms. Some seemed to be on flame, possibly because of the burning servers on a few giant computers.

His eyes switched from observant to alert, though, as a figure padded its way into the large space.

It was reptilian, and its blunt snout bore many scars, possibly from a battle.

Falco grinned, his beak forming an arrogant smirk that seemed chiseled into it.

"Do that again, in my presence, boy, and I'll tear the smile off." The greened-skin dinosaur said.

"Okay, okay! Where's my credits?"

"You do not get any, until you fulfill the _whole_ job. Then you'll receive your precious payment."

"Okay, chill out, Dakar."

BACK ON THE GREAT FOX…

Fox slowly got up, and stretched from his long night on the couch. He stood there for a few seconds, and then something seemed to click in his mind.

"ROB," he called "how are Slippy's vitals doing?"

The metallic voice answered, "His heart rate is zero BPM. He appeared to die of blood loss. Perhaps I made a mistake fixing him."

Fox let out a howl of rage, pain, and sadness, all in a mixed bag.

"How could this happen? All my team's gone! My friends, my wife… my family…," he cried, forgetting where he was in a sea of agony and loss.

He stood there for awhile, and then he remembered the Krazoa spirit.

_I'm going back to Sauria, _he thought.

"ROB," he said, the tears running freely, exposed ordered "set course for Sauria orbit. I'm going to the palace."

"Yes sir."

Not long after that, the Great Fox's throttle opened wide, carrying it to its new objective at maximum velocity.

A FEW HOURS LATER….

A few hours later, the Great Fox was hovering over the giant planet that Fox knew as Sauria. The security cameras found him dashing to the hanger, grabbing some weapons on the way, one of which was his late lover's staff. He stopped by his ship, gave a quick nod at a few charred ashes and ordered ROB to

"Tell my dad where I am when he wakes up."

After that was done, just as he was taking off, he noticed a sleek black ship. It looked like it had some serious fire power. Its main weapons seemed to be automatic plasma rifle!

_I could use that_, Fox thought.

He powered down the Arwing and walked over to the mysterious behemoth.

"ROB, tell Dad I'm using his ship, too."

"Command acknowledged," ROB answered mechanically.

Fox used an old-fashioned ladder to climb up into the cockpit. Seating himself in it, he observed that the controls weren't that different from his craft of choice. They just looked slightly bigger.

Fox prepped the ship for take-off. He was surprised that, when the G-Diffuser came on, it was completely silent.

"Good for sneaking down unnoticed," he thought aloud.

With that, he punched the throttle, and the ship was on its way, a red trail of energy left in its wake.

1 HOUR LATER…

Fox landed a smooth touch-down on the stony top of Krazoa palace. Not much to his surprise, it was raining. He felt like the whole planet was weeping for him. He took a few moments to gaze softly at the gem at the head of the palace, and then went to find that shrine.

_Where had we been? _He questioned himself.

He stopped at a small air vent, and jumped down, the wind carrying him safely.

He was surprised to be on the same exact spot as he was just a few days ago. It felt like years.

He walked at a slightly fast pace, until another pillar of light came down on him.

The Krazoa floated out, its eyes unwavering.

"What is it you seek?" it asked calmly.

"I want answers. You lied to me. Why?"

"Even prophecies can be wrong, young one."

"What about Falco? Why did he do that? Why did he kill my team, my wife?"

"Because he is under the control of greed."

"So, I can't complete the prophecy?" Fox struggled to keep his voice calm; this was a painful reminder of what had happened to his team.

"Oh, you can still complete it, but there will be many more dangers to face without your soul mate with you."

"Oh," Fox said simply, and walked off.

BACK ON RUMIANIN….

Falco seemed paralyzed. It could be because he couldn't move. It could be because he was in immense pain. But there was also the fact that Dakar was hovering over him, chanting in an unknown tongue. Every word he said made Falco weaker. After a few minutes of the torture, Dakar stepped back with a satisfied grin on his face. He took a few slow steps back, Falco eyeing him nervously. Suddenly Dakar leapt through the air, his arms outstretched, as if to tackle Falco.

Falco braced himself for an impact, but it never came. What _did_ come was that Dakar leapt straight _into_ his body. Suddenly an immense pain came over his frame, and he struggled to keep his eyes open. A red film seemed to descend over his eyes, and then, after a few seconds, the pin stopped.

"Yesss…." A voice that wasn't his own slithered. He felt his jaw moving though. What had happened? As if to answer his question, someone pulled at his mouth again as the voice said," The possession is complete."

Maniacal laughter followed….

END CHAPTER 9


	10. The Dream

CHAPTER 10

THE DREAM

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox.

"_Fox." _The mentioned vulpine sat up, opening his tired emerald eyes. Doing so, he noticed that he was in a large, open field. Judging by the position of the hot summer sun, it was about noontime. The field bore no wheat, instead of the huge mass most Cornerians were accustomed to, it was scorched, and barren. The ground was cracked and parched, and hadn't seen rain in many days.

"_Fox," _the voice called again, its sad sounds echoing across empty space. This time, he saw the source of the noise. Far in the distance, a figure was walking slowly towards the spot where he stood. He couldn't see who they were; the distance was too far, but he had the distinct impression that he knew whoever was calling.

The figure was getting closer, and he now saw that it was a slim, cerulean vixen whose voice and face he suddenly recognized.

It was Krystal. _How could I possibly forget? _He thought.

She looked exactly as he remembered from their first "meeting."

They quickened their paces until they caught up to each other, Krystal enshrouding Fox in a firm, loving embrace. Fox reached up and ran a paw through her hair, just as they always had. Fox didn't want that blissful moment to end, but after a few minutes, with a slight push from Krystal, it did.

"I've missed you, Fox," she said, speaking softly. He grinned, drawing her in for a kiss, and just as their muzzles were about to join, a small patch of the scorched, blackened, earth exploded angrily at their feet. They were under fire!

"Move!" Fox commanded, pushing her off of his chest, and running in the shot's direction. _Maybe I can draw the shooter's attention_, Fox thought, heart and limbs pumping.

He failed to draw his attacker's attention, but his love did. With another crack of gunfire, he knew that they weren't after him this time. He swivelled on the spot, turning around just in time to see Krystal crumple to the ground, a laser burn in her back.

"NO!" he yelled fearfully, moving to go to her side. His efforts were in vain though, as his leg muscles refused to move for some reason. He watched helplessly as her head turned to face him, eyes open, but seeing nothing.

Angrily, he struggled against the invisible chains that bound him, face straining from his efforts. Hearing movement, he turned his head back to see Falco walk up from behind him, a smoking gun in his hand, and a cruel smile plastered onto his beak.

His beak split, and from his mouth poured cold laughter. He drew his unarmed hand up to Fox, and pointed a long, slender digit at him. He then drew it back, and moved it across his neck. He didn't need to say anything, because the message more then spoke for itself.

Falco then raised his gun hand up to the Star Fox captain's forehead. At this range, laser sights were useless. He probably wouldn't miss.

"Time's up," the avian mouthed, his familiar smug smile on his face again. He pulled the trigger, and Fox did the same thing he always did. . . he woke up.

An anguished scream ripped Fox from the cruel fantasy of the nightmare. Panting, and sweating slightly, Fox raised a trembling arm to turn on his touch-lamp on his bedside table.

Just as light flooded the dark from the room, his door flew open, followed by a very loud noise as it struck the cold metal wall. In ran his father, running hurriedly up to him.

"Fox, Fox, what's wrong?" he asked, concern written all over his features.

"Just a dream," Fox said, a tear tracing its path down his cheek, dampening the fur. He still remembered the sensation of being back in her arms. . .

"I'm. . . sorry." James whispered, back out from the room, in as short a time as he had done entering.

Fox got up, went into his bathroom, washed his face, and lay back down on the bed.

He sighed, looking at the picture Peppy had taken of them at the Cornerian carnival a year ago.

He traced a furry finger across her familiar features slowly, remembering the time they had had there.

After turning out the light and shutting the door, he voiced the one haunting question that haunted his waking hours and damned his dreams. "Why did you do it, Falco?"

Then he re-entered the passageway to sleep, where he had a much better dream, all about Krystal.

Halfway across the galaxy, a chilling laugh echoed across the empty space station where Dakar currently was. "First your father, and then you, McCloud, and your bloodline will be extinguished from this galaxy forever!"

END CHAPTER 10

Sorry about the long time it took to update this, and the shortness of the chapter, but this will get me started on another update roll. . . I hope.


	11. Reflections, and cntrl trble

CHAPTER 11

Reflections, and control trouble.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox.

As soon as Fox returned from his sleep, he got out of his rather messy bed, and went straight to the control room. Walking along the quiet, empty hallways, he reflected on everything that had been happening recently.

When Krystal and Fox landed in Sauria, along with Tricky, they discovered that a new Krazoa was in need. It had said that two young heroes had to draw power from the others' soul to defeat the newest evil that had reared its ugly head.

Then Pepper had a little shouting match on the sandy beach where the trio had woken up.

Wolf had a change of heart by killing Leon, while Peppy afterwards committed suicide, after learning Wolf was joining the team.

After that, Falco had killed Krystal, Wolf, and helped the death of Slippy. Fox's father had returned to help him, and the younger had gone down to Sauria, alone, where the Krazoa had told him that the prophecy was wrong.

What did it all mean?

Before Fox could come to a conclusion, however, the large, metallic door guarding the control room stopped him with : "Please enter the access code."

Fox typed in the code that he had memorized, hoping access, but, to his great surprise, the door stood firm, stating that he had the wrong command.

Frustrated, Fox typed in the same command, with the same results. Pondering this strange event for awhile, Fox then had a realization.

_That cunning little bastard! He must have changed the command code! _

Thinking about what to do next, Fox spied a vent above the door. Slippy had always warned Fox about the vent, saying if a screw came loose, an intruder could easily slip inside

Thinking about that, an idea suddenly came to mind. They always kept the vent tightly closed, but if he used some of Slippy's tools. . .

Grinning at the sudden surge of brainpower, Fox dashed down to Slippy's room, and tried opening it. Seeing it locked, Fox backed up a couple feet, ran to the door, and slammed into it full strength.

The door flew off of its hinges as though they were never there.

Fox, nursing his now sore shoulder, but grinning all the same, stepped into the dark, empty room.

Just as he had found the box of tools, he heard rapid footsteps on his right.

"What the Hell's going on!" James McCloud yelped, startled from sleep.

"Just getting some tools," Fox stated casually.

"Why?" James questioned, all anger temporarily forgotten.

"The control room's locked down tight, so I'm gonna have to get in the hard way," Fox said, stopping only long enough to grab the ladder that Slippy had stuffed into his room.

That had always weirded Fox out a little, but now he didn't care.

Rushing down the hall, much in the same manner as previously done, Fox stopped at the door, positioned the ladder, and carefully began unscrewing the vent. After a few minutes, the vent cover crashed to the floor with a satisfying thud.

_Always wanted to be a secret agent, _Fox thought as he climbed into the cramped space.

After crawling around painfully on his hands and knees for a few seconds, Fox reached the other vent cover, which was, to no surprise, securely shut.

Fox didn't bother with manners, he merely kicked, hard at the cover which protected his destination. After a few minutes, and a sore foot, the shield finally clattered down, stopping with a thud similar to the last one.

Fox climbed out of the vent, wiping the grime off of his shirt, and walked over to where ROB stood.

"ROB, set a course for Corneria. I've got some friends to talk to."

"Yes, captain."

Remembering the pain going through the vent, Fox went to the security panel, and set in his code.

"Pass code acknowledged," the computer's falsetto "voice" emnated from the speaker.

_Gonna get some more sleep now, _Fox thought wearily, _I've got a long day ahead of me._


	12. Recruiting

CHAPTER 12

RECRUITING

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox, or Blade McFallon. Nintendo and Misterchief own them, respectively.

I don't own the SC-20K, Sticky Shocker, or anything Splinter Cell related, either. Ubisoft does.

A/N: Sorry 'bout the long wait, guys. Writer's block sucks…

Fox tossed and turned in his bed, desperately trying to fall asleep. He had gone to bed what felt like minutes ago, 10:00. The time now read an early 4.

_Crap, _he thought. _I've gotta dock in Corneria in a few hours. . . _

In the other room, James McCloud was having a similar problem.

It was his thoughts that bothered him. He had just recently given his position away to his son, with the risk of being killed, but no, his son had been too happy to see him suspicious.

He had told Fox that he was spying on Venom, but that wasn't exactly it. He was a double agent, and those were always feared on both sides.

He had slipped when he said 'Peppy might kill me in sight' but Fox didn't notice….

James rolled and landed on his stomach, letting his sore back rest. He stared at the ceiling for a while, wondering about his current 'assignment' and wondered if he could do it. Could he? Only time would tell.

A FEW HOURS LATER…

A few hours later, the Great Fox, in all its shining, famous, beauty, successfully landed in the Cornerian docking bay.

Instantly, a swarm of reporters massed around it, the crowd buzzing like gnats.

As the cargo ramp lowered, some nervous paparazzi shot a few nervous shots at the figures that walked out.

One, they all knew and loved, and the other. . .

"James McCloud?" Pepper breathed.

That got the media's attention. Instantly, flashes from cameras everywhere surrounded them in bright, blinding light.

The questions were to numerous to count. And for once, they weren't aimed at the younger vulpine, but the elder.

"Where have you been?"

"How did you get here?"

"Are you James McCloud?"

"Please people, no questions!" James said, raising his voice to be heard.

In all the confusion, no one noticed the lone figure walking away from the crowd.

He had a job to do.

Twenty minutes later, Fox McCloud knocked on the rich wooden door of apartment 4D.

Ten seconds later, he knocked again, slightly impatient.

Two seconds after that, the door opened, revealing a gray, grizzled husky, known to the world as Blade McFallon.

"Fox McCloud," he stated, amused.

"What's a young celebrity like yourself doin' at a place like this?"

"Well," began the vulpine, but before he could properly say, he was cut off.

"Where's the rest of Star Fox? Your girlfriend?"

Fox winced, not wanting to really talk about it.

"Dead, Blade."

The mentioned husky's eyes widened in amazed disbelief.

Casting a quick eye around, he quickly muttered "Come inside."

Obeying his orders, Fox followed the former Dane leader through his modest doorway into his apartment.

"Who did it?" Blade asked angrily. "Was it that fool, O'Donnel?"

"No. It was the same guy who beat you at the flight simulators back in the Academy."

"A freshman beating a senior, that's unheard of." Blade chuckled.

"Falco Lombardi, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. That traitor killed Krystal, Wolf, who joined the team," he added, seeing the older lupine cock an eyebrow. "Then he killed Slippy, too."

"So what was the reason you came here?"

"I need your help. The Great Fox tracked his Arwing to Rumanian. What I want to do will require a lot of stealth, which I hear you're quite good at."

"It's been rumored that Venom is positioning a rally against Corneria there, and if Falco's there, we can hit two birds with one stone."

"We? What about the C.O.F?"

"I don't want a whole squad of spies with us. All I want is a 48 hour time zone to explore the possible base. I don't want what happened going public. Dad's already got enough attention as it is. If you actually decide to go through this, don't bring the new weapons they have. Bring guns that shoot bullets."

"Bullets! Do you know how old that crap is?" Blade blurted, struggling to contain his amusement.

"Exactly. They won't expect it, and laser proof vests don't protect against bullets."

"I like how you think. I'll do it. But what about your dad?" Blade queried.

"I think I'll give him time for a vacation, get caught up with the times," Fox grinned.

"I'll make a few calls. I'll let you know tomorrow."

"It's a deal, then," Fox stated shaking hands.

"Yes," Blade paused, "a deal.

AT THE CORNERIAN PRIDE HOTEL….

"Two rooms, please," Fox asked the receptionist.

After a moment, she got up and handed both vulpines separate cards.

"Rooms 264 and 265. Your cards say which room it opens."

"Thanks," James said.

"Do I know you?" the lady asked after a second.

"I hope not," Fox moaned hastily, and hurried to the elevator.

The feline just sat there, confused. "What?"

TWO HOURS LATER…

Fox climbed into bed. "Now I can make up for lost sleep," he murmured, and after a few minutes, slipped into it.

THE NEXT DAY…

At 9:00 sharp, Fox was jerked rudely out of sleep by his cell phone ringing.

"Wha . . .?" he asked, stifling a yawn.

"Good morning to you too, Fox."

That voice jolted him out of his grogginess instantly.

"Blade! How did you get my number?"

"Wasn't that hard, just asked the guy in charge of communications what your number was."

"Oh. So what's the verdict?"

"I'll do it, but we won't have any approval from the Joint Chiefs. Meet me in the park near my apartment in half-an-hour."

At that exact time, he was joined by Blade.

"I hope you've got at least a little training in Covert Ops, it's not as easy as it looks, you know."

"Does taking out Venom's chief colonel count?"

"Yeah. The escort pilot will meet us at this address today, at noon," he said, handing Fox a hairbrush.

"What is this, some kind of joke to you!"

"Look on the bottom. It's a hollow brush. Unscrew the head, and the cards down in the shaft."

"Seems like a bit much on security for a simple meeting place, doesn't it?"

"Well, in my business, you tend to get a little paranoid."

"Pack for a cold voyage, with a white snowsuit, as it's a cold planet, but make sure you wear black underneath, in case we find the base, okay McCloud?"

"Yep. See you then."

"So, you guys ready for this?" a pilot by the name of Randy Simmons chirped.

"Just get us there," Fox snapped, irritated.

"Okay, okay. It's gonna take us at least a few hours to get there, and it'll be around dusk when we do."

"Good," Blade said, his deep voice carrying threats of nothing but menace.

"Fox, follow me," Blade commanded, and Fox did just that.

Blade reached the back of the somewhat large drop ship, which somehow found room for a small shooting range.

Closing a white-gloved hand over the zipper of a duffel bag, he pulled, and revealed its contents.

Sitting inside was a rather large gun, with various odds and ends attached. Littered around it were several small ball, and ring shaped objects.

"I wouldn't touch that without gloves, Fox," he said, as the vulpine reached for one of the spherical shapes.

"Meet the SC-20K. The most elite recon gun at the beginning of the last century. That thing you nearly touched was a Sticky Shocker, and without protection on your hands, you'd be out flat for hours. Those ring-shaped things are Ring Airfoil rounds, and, though not as powerful as the sticky shocker, it allows for slightly more precise action. Always aim for the head, though. These," he said, pointing to yet another attachment, "are Sticky Cams. Shoot one around a corner, and you'll be looking at another hallway for guards. Very handy. The gun also has a sniper rifle on it."

"Okay, go down to the shooting range and try it out. I won't tell you how it all works, because I think it's best if you learn by yourself. Get to it!"

After an intense two hours of familiarization with the gun, Fox had the hang of it.

Blade had been giving him small tips, but not much else.

"Okay, guys, this is the landing zone," the pilot crackled over the radio.

Fox looked out of one of the transport's windows in the side. From what little he could see, it appeared to be all snowy white.

"Good suggestion, Blade," Fox commented.

Blade recognized it with a wave of his hand.

"Okay, guys, you're gonna need to parachute out, I can't risk taking you to ground level."

Fox reached to his hip, found the pistol, and brought out his silencer. Quickly he screwed it on, loaded ammo into the gun, and put extra bullets in his backpack. The gun flew back to the holster.

Fox crossed the red-tinted room, reached for one of the many parachutes the ship had, and strapped it securely around his back, over his own SC-20K.

The pilot pressed a button on the control board, and the loading ramp flew down. Fox ambled down to the ramp, looking down, when fear suddenly appeared in the pit of his stomach. This was 1,997 feet up, the largest drop he'd ever made.

His legs locked up.

"What're you waiting for? Move!" Blade shouted over the howling wind.

"I can- -"

Before he could finish his statement, Blade's foot connected with his back, sending him flying out of the ship.

Fox grasped the cord on his parachute and pulled, hard. The sheet spread out behind him like a wraith as he began his descent.

Looking over, he saw Blade, and nodded in thanks. A few short minutes later, Fox felt his feet make contact with the ground.

He steadied himself quickly, shrugging off the 'chute.

Quickly spotting two guards in the distance, Fox and Blade whipped out their SC-20Ks and fired.

The bullets ejection quiet, thankfully, and the two guards fell, a bullet-hole in each brain.

Fox started forward grimly. The mission had begun.


	13. Infiltration

Chapter 13

Infiltration

_They took my family and my home, and I intend to take their lives. –Tanya Romanova, Call of Duty: Finest Hour_

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox. As Tonywolf informed me, the SC20K's real name is the FN20, so that is what I will call it. I also don't own anything associated with Fabrique International, or Ubisoft.

Fox and Blade had been walking in the cold for about twenty solid minutes. There was no sound, except for the heavy footsteps that they made. They continued this way for some time, no communication, until Blade held his arm out and hissed, "_Quiet!"_

"What?" Fox whispered.

"You hear that?" Blade asked, ignoring his question.

There was a low hum in the air, instead of the chilly silence there had been four minutes ago.

"Is that a generator?" Fox suddenly piped, recalling hearing the noise many times before.

"One way to find out," Blade said, slinging his backpack of his shoulders, and unzipping it. A few seconds later, he pulled a pair of night-vision goggles out.

"It's still light!" Fox exclaimed.

"Yeah, but these, and the ones in your pack have the ability to show heat signatures. If there _is _a generator here, thermal vision is our best bet."

"Why?" Fox questioned, not fully understanding.

"If there's a generator here, they've probably painted it white, to match the snow." Blade explained.

"Oh."

Fox pulled his own out, and they began to look for the generator. Craning their necks in all directions, they had found nothing until, "There!" Blade said, pointing in the sounds direction.

Together they crept through the snow, evergreen trees, and needles scattered on the ground.

Continuing in this manner for a few seconds, they suddenly stopped upon hearing a gruff voice.

"Hey, Marco, I gotta take a piss. Keep an eye on the security videos, alright?"

This time, a much higher voice piped up.

"Aw, c'mon. You said that twenty minutes ago!"

"I got bladder problems, alright?"

The group heard a large rustling in the brush directly in front of them.

Blade ducked behind a tree, while Fox quickly climbed into one, which, thankfully, was thick enough to conceal him.

Not ten seconds later, a jet-black Dane came over. Fox heard a zipper being un-zipped.

Meanwhile, Blade crept slowly towards the dog.

Unsheathing his combat knife, he covered the unsuspecting animals' mouth with his hand, and plunged his knife deep into his back.

Blade took his knife out and placed it back in its sheath, and dumped the corpse under a nearby evergreen.

"Orlando, how much water did you drink!"

A tawny mouse came crashing through the bush this time. He gasped as he spotted blood on the ground.

"What the Hell!"

Fox, noticing the mouse's hand reaching for his walkie-talkie, drew his pistol.

"Marco," he said loudly.

Marco looked up, his hand stopping, as Fox fired.

The bullet struck the mouse straight in the forehead, ending his life.

Fox turned on thermal to look for any more patrols, but found none.

He dropped down from the tree, landing softly.

Blade was already going ahead, to the generator.

"Perfect," he murmured.

"What is it?"

"A cloaking generator. Turn this off, and we'll be able to actually _see_ the so-called base. We'll have to slip inside quickly, as some technicians will be coming out to fix it soon."

Saying that, he turned a dial, and the base slowly took shape in front of them.

"Let's go."

They took off at a run, reaching the base within fifteen minutes.

Panting, they ducked against a wall as a team of techies flew out of the base, failing to notice two figures that jumped inside.

Both animals unzipped there snow-white suits to reveal a black suit, better for shadows.

Creeping along corridors, they poked their heads around and swiftly drew them back as four guards walked by.

"Hey, didja hear about what the boss did to Star Fox?"

"No, what happened?"

Another guard, a deep brown elk, butted in saying, "You didn't hear? He killed the whole stinkin' team and left that McCloud slime alive. We've got all the corpses here of course but boss doesn't want us…"

"Really! Where? I wanna get pictures!"

"Down the hall. The door's retinal-scanner locked, though, so good luck getting' past it."

"Damn…"

Fox angrily looked at the quartet, inching his hand to his gun.

Blade shook his head angrily.

He pointed down the hall, where a General, a snow white ape, was facing a pale, green door, with a retinal scanner on it.

Fox went along the hall, quietly, sticking to shadows, creeping toward the person.

He grabbed him, pressed his pistol to the man's temple, and dragged him to a dark corner nearby.

"What's going on here?" Fox whispered menacingly.

"Gah! It's some sorta recon thing, I'm not sure," the monkey answered.

"Lies make me grumpy. Try harder," Fox said, pushing the muzzle of his gun harder against his skull.

"Gah, Okay! I'm not sure, but it's something to get back at Lylat. That all he told me! I swear!"

"What about the bodies? What's your Boss doing with them?"

"How should I know? Everytime he goes in there, he locks the door and tells us not to go in. He'll shoot us if we do." The General said, fear evident in his eyes.

"Thanks", Fox said, dragging him over to the door.

"Open it."

"No!"

"Do it!" Fox growled, pressing his head against the scanner.

Access Approved, the door read.

Fox dragged him to the same corner, and slammed the butt of his pistol into his neck, knocking him out.

Blade was entering the door when Fox crept in behind him.

"How's the food?" an unknown voice asked.

"Better than breakfast," another answered, laughing.

Blade tapped an advancing Fox on the shoulder and pointed up, where a security camera was mounted on the wall.

Blade withdrew a scrambler device, and aimed it at the camera. A whirring sound was heard, and the camera continued.

"Go." Blade whispered.

"What about the camera?"

"It's on a loop," Blade answered confidently.

Fox slowly advanced on the wall, placed an Optic Cable on the floor, and watched what was proceeding.

Four scientists hovered over the body of - -

_Krystal!_

Fox and Blade stepped out of the corner and aimed their sights on the scientists.

Four Sticky Shockers flew toward each individual scientist. All of them arched their backs, and before they even let loose a yelp of pain, fell to the ground unconscious.

Bolted to a wall adjacent to the two was an emergency canister, with a First Aid Kit, a fire blanket, and an unknown liquid.

Fox walked up to the kit and grabbed the serum, which came with a dart gun.

The vials that the fluid was contained in read:_Warning. Only use in emergencies. If someone is unconscious or has died, inject this and the fluid will reviv- -_

Fox didn't need to read more. He walked over to Krystal, loaded the gun, and shot a dart into her arm. Slowly, a stirring began in her arm, moving up along the rest of her body. She began talking in several different languages, laughing, crying, and screaming, her back arching up, until she fell, still, onto the operating table.

She opened her slightly blood-shot eyes, and looked around at her surroundings. Spotting a familiar figure in front of her, she began to question, in a fatigued voice, "Fox, where - -"

She didn't get to finish, however, as Fox wrapped her in his arms.

"Krystal!" he said happily.

"Hey, sorry lovebirds, but we've got a mission to finish, Fox," Blade said impatiently.

Krystal looked up, confusion now in her eyes.

"Fill you in on the way," Fox stated, helping her up.

End Chapter 13

Authors Notes: Sorry about the long wait. Have a good one!


	14. Reunion

Chapter 14

Reunion

Disclaimer: Star Fox is © Nintendo. FN20 is © Fabrique International.

"Fox, we need to get outta here!" Blade McFallon spoke.

Fox, who was lost in the trance of his newly-reborn wife's eyes, didn't respond.

"Fox?" Blade demanded.

Fox still didn't answer. Blade walked up behind him and gripped his shoulder tightly.

"What!" Fox spun around, mildly disoriented.

Krystal, too, looked around for a couple seconds.

"What is it…?" She trailed off, as she didn't know the gray husky's name.

"Name's Blade, and we gotta go, as I've been telling you for the past _minute_!"

"Sorry," Fox offered. "What's wrong?"

"We've been spotted," Blade spoke grimly, pointing across the room to a set of security monitors.

Displayed in it were two figures, clearly detailed, creeping down a hallway.

"Uh oh." Fox stared.

Saying that, he pulled Krystal's hand, tugging her out the door which Blade had opened.

The three rushed down the way they had come, stopping in the shadows.

A loud speaker screeched an alarm out. "Cameras showing hostiles!"

Fox looked across the shadows, through a window.

In it, a posse of guards were hurriedly strapping on various weapons and armor.

"Blade, what about the mission?"

"I forgot to mention, the Joint Chiefs finally decided to approve of this mission. That doesn't mean we can just go setting off alarms, though. The more we set off, the more alert the guards will become, and we _don't _want that." Blade explained, pausing to catch his breath once finished.

No sooner had he said that, then the ten-odd guards in the other room came dashing out, bolting to the room the group had previously occupied.

Fox, Blade, and Krystal meanwhile, went the other direction.

Stepping into the light momentarily, a guard, slow to come out, spotted Blade's tail disappearing into the shadows of a nearby alcove.

"Hey!"

Before the creature could do or say anything else, Blade whipped out his pistol and fired two shots into the man's heart.

The animal collapsed to the floor, gurgling.

"Krystal," Fox said.

"Yes?" She questioned.

"You might want this," Fox spoke, handing over his pistol.

She took the weapon silently, placing it in the holster.

While this had happened, Blade had dragged the quickly dying guard into the shadows they occupied.

Blade crouched down to the dazed, glassy eyed animal.

With a pang, he looked noticed the man was just in his early twenties.

_Just a kid…_

"Where are the others?" Blade said softly, slowly, calming the lion down ever-so slightly.

"Dead men tell no tales." He said, mockingly.

"You're not dead yet," Blade countered, aiming at the animal's head.

"Where are the other corpses?" Blade asked again, slower.

"Why - why should I tell you?"

"I'll make you die slowly, painfully, if you don't. You don't want that, right?"

"Now, _where are the others_!" Blade questioned, impatience shining through.

For further encouragement, he jammed his pistol into the stag's head, hard.

"Agh! Okay. Okay… They're all in the body processing plant!"

"And that is?" Blade demanded.

"It's where they remove the brains from dead skulls."

"No, where is it?"

"On the… other side of… the… facility…." The lion said, breathing his last.

"How're we getting to the other side of this place? It's huge!" Krystal exclaimed.

"Hmm…" Fox looked around. He sighed, spotting a vent covering.

Blade did, too.

"Good thinking, Fox!"

"I just showered this morning!"

Saying that, he walked over to where Blade now was.

"Anyone got a screwdriver?" Fox asked.

"Don't need one," Blade stated, shooting off the screws.

The cover fell in, and Blade hoisted himself into the vent, moaning in exertion.

"I'm getting too old for this…"

Fox and Krystal followed suit, getting up with slightly less effort.

Turning on night-vision, Fox and Blade easily traversed the metallic cavern, with Krystal keeping a tight hold on Fox's shirt.

After crawling along for about twenty minutes, Fox caught a glimpse of a Wolf's corpse.

Looking harder, he noticed Slippy's, too.

"Blade, look!"

Blade crawled backward, while Fox did the same.

"Okay, let's go," he said.

There were two guards patrolling the area.

One was just lucky enough to be crushed by the vent's cover as it flew down to the floor.

The other guard hurried over.

Blade jumped down, landing on the other one's head, Fox and Krystal coming after him.

Fox hurried over to the straps that held two of the four dead, and undid them

Slippy fell to the floor, lifeless, while Wolf did the same on the opposite side of the room.

Fox took out the serum gun, and injected it into Slippy, and did the same to Wolf.

A glassy-eyed Slippy looked up into the joyous face of Fox, and Wolf did the same ten seconds later.

The two were briefly overviewed on what had happened.

Blade turned to Fox and said "Fox, we're good to go, but before we do that, we have to take a live guard outta here for interrogation back on Corneria."

Fox nodded.

Slippy and Wolf ambled over to the dead guard's bodies, taking off the Machine Guns strapped to their backs, and armed themselves.

Once out of the room, they crept along towards an exit.

A guard, patrolling luckily within reach of Fox's elbow, was soon unconscious on the floor.

Fox slung him over his back, and the five rushed out the door, into the frigid night air.

"Air evac requested." Blade radioed.

"Way ahead of you," the pilot smirked, circling overhead.

Soon afterwards, the guard was locked in a back room, while the crew sat, exhausted, on their way to Corneria.

Krystal laid her head on Fox's shoulder.

He just smiled and kissed her head affectionately.

Wolf sat across from them, in stony silence, while Slippy slept.

Blade was up with the pilot, discussing the mission.

Krystal, not too much later, was gently snoring on Fox.

Fox himself, felt his eyes growing heavy, and he enshrouded Krystal in his arms as he too went to sleep…

End Chapter 14


	15. Debriefing

Chapter 15

Debriefing

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox, or Blade McFallon.

The Cornerian military base was swarming like a bee hive. Employees ran around, carrying files marked Confidential, papers, or just the occasional battle plan. They had gotten word just hours ago that a Venomian terror cell was planning an uprising. That couldn't happen.

General Rufus Pepper wearily rubbed his bloodshot eyes. He eye-balled his watch, which read a rather early 1:12 A.M.

"They should be here anytime now," he quietly assured himself. He paced about silently, paranoia evident.

Beside him, the commander of the C.O.F. fidgeted with his fingers.

They were waiting for a certain "package" to arrive. Blade had filled the Commander in on everything that happened, who in turn had relayed the info to Pepper. The dog wasn't taking any chances. If a possible uprising was happening, it would have to be crushed immediately.

Pepper sighed, rubbing his temples. Keeping things like this under wraps was never easy. If they ever told the general public of something like this as early as it was, bad things would happen again. People always wanted that little bit of security, as if saying "Nothing serious is happening" would consol the grieving wife, or bring back the son that never came home.

On top of that, Andross support cells were everywhere these days. The planet-wide Special Forces dealt with an average of two hundred terror-based attacks each day.

Drive-bys, bombings, all were the usual for people who protected Corneria. They were used to it, of course, but each bomb took the lives of many, and jolted the police sheriffs into more "We're sorry, but your husband died," speeches. They would say how they were planning on doing something, and then wait a few months to see what happened.

That was why the uprising had to be stopped. Things like this would have to set an example. Andross supporters' fuel for the fire was the hope that someone would overthrow Corneria and its' allies. They were always wrong. Take away the fire's oxygen; it dies out. That was what the Cornerians did, but the threat wouldn't be wiped out with small, numerous strikes. It would have to be a large, concentrated attack.

Pepper was jolted out of his thoughts by the whirring of a helicopter's blades.

Raising his view from the floor, he looked at the landing zone.

He was amazed at what he saw. Out stepped Blade McFallon, whom he knew well, Fox, who he was expecting, and then a trio of totally unexpected people.

He stared, baffled at the sight before him.

_I thought the rest of Star Fox died! _His mind exclaimed.

The commander arched his eyebrows, but said nothing.

The almost-last passenger stepped out somewhat reluctantly. His build was that of a lion, notorious for their ferocity in battle. What was astonishing was the fact that he didn't simply rip the head of the pilot off. The pilot was leading him from the copter at a not-so-friendly gunpoint.

"General." Fox saluted.

Pepper started. He hadn't even noticed Fox come up to him.

"Fox! What is happening! I thought your team was dead!"

Wolf O'Donnel noticed the general talking to Fox. It was perfectly alright with him; he and the Pepper weren't exactly good friends.

He noticed many of Pepper's bodyguards stiffen slightly in surprise, moving their hands to slight bulges on their bodies that indicated weapons.

Once the entire posse was assembled in front of the two officials, two interrogators grabbed the lion by the shoulders and hauled him off to interrogation chamber.

The bodyguards walked up to Wolf and gripped his shoulder.

"For my protection," General Pepper half-apologized.

Wolf was lead into a separate room to watch the proceedings.

"Now, follow me," the Commander spoke crisply.

They followed him to the conference room, where he gesticulated to a set of chairs on either side of a long, oval shaped table of polished mahogany.

"Please, sit," he said softly to the group.

When they obliged, a screen was pulled down. He turned on a projector. On it flashed the planet previously visited by most of the room.

"Now," the General began "McFallon reports that a base has been detected on this planet. The insignia on the captured soldiers' patch shows that he belongs to the elusive Venomian Black Skull brigade. These guys wiped out _two _entire colonies during the war on Venom. If they are allowed to survive, only God knows what a concentrated attack from them could do to us, with us still soft from the Aparoid attack."

He grimaced slightly, and then continued.

"According to the interrogators, the grunt's not proving very cooperative. We've decided to lock him up a few days, no food or water. Anyway, somehow you two," he said, gesturing to Slippy and Krystal, who were listening to the debrief intently.

"You two are somehow alive. How is that?" he questioned.

Krystal and Slippy looked around, unease on their faces.

"Uh…" Slippy attempted.

"Actually sir" Fox began "I saw some sort of regeneration… serum in the lab we found Krystal in. I injected some of it into her arm, and she woke up. She was dead before, and I'm sure of that," he said, anger clouding his face.

The Commander sat up, pushing his wire-frame glasses back up his muzzle.

"That's incredible!" he exclaimed.

"Imagine what we could do if we discovered how it worked! We'd need a sample first, of course…"

Pepper's face, however, lost most of its color.

"Imagine… imagine what _they_ might be doing, Commander!"

"Mr. McCloud," the commander turned to face him "I'm sending you back in."

"We need to know what's going on there. You'll need an elite recon team to get some photos if you see anything. I recommend the Epsilon team. Get a team assembled, and get out there, as soon as possible."

Fox was just getting up to leave, everyone else following, when an interrogator burst through the door, his scaly green face shining with excitement.

"Sirs! The hostage, he had an L-Pill! I don't think we're getting any more out of him. He did mention something about a 'plan in development' though."

The commander looked grimly ahead for a few seconds, and then nodded slightly.

"Thank you," he spoke, his voice tense with worry.

"Now then, Mr. McCloud. Go to this address, 10:20 tomorrow. Dismissed."

With that, the group proceeded to leave the room.

Going back down the hallway to the landing tarmac, they met up with Wolf, as well as Pepper's loyal bodyguards, who still eyed Wolf with much suspicion.

Fox and company exited the building, to meet James McCloud's angry face.

"Fox, where did you go!" He spat furiously.

"Just on a little… vacation," Fox replied.

James eyed Fox and his gear contemptuously, but said nothing. Blade drove back to his apartment, while Fox and his group flew back to the Great Fox.

When Fox lay in bed awhile, Krystal sleeping soundly next to him, he thought he heard the sound of a jet taking off. He dismissed, however, kissed Krystal lightly on the forehead, and went to sleep himself.

_Probably Wolf watching a movie…_

The next morning, when Fox awoke, the clock read a late 9:45.

Slippy promptly ran into the room, clearing Fox's head of any grogginess.

"Fox!" Slippy panted, out of breath.

"What is it, Slippy?" Fox asked.

"Fox! Your dad's ship is gone!"

"What!"

Fox and Slippy dashed of his room, and to the hanger. The massive black ship wasn't there.

_Always was a loner…_ Fox thought sadly. _At least I know he's actually alive…_

Together they ran to the command station, where Krystal and Wolf were enjoying the first breakfast they had eaten since rebirth.

Krystal, noticing them both out of breath, and the state of their clothes, promptly asked "What's wrong?"

"My dad's gone . . . again," Fox wailed, torn.

"He had just gotten back," he murmured softly.

He turned on his heel and left, going to get ready, or as best he could in his slightly frazzled state. Krystal followed shortly thereafter, abandoning her food.

Fox was just pulling a shirt over his head when Krystal padded into the bedroom.

Fox looked at her miserably. She went over to him and stroked the white streak on his forehead, comforting him slightly.

"I know what its like," she whispered.

The clock beeped a warning, its face reading 10.

"We'd better get going…" Krystal sighed.

The team climbed into their own respective Arwings; Wolf his Wolfen, and they sped off towards the address.

"You sure this is it?" Wolf asked bluntly.

The group stared in relative confusion at the shamble of a warehouse looming up into the sky before them.

Fox snuck a glance at the slip in his hand.

"1210 E. Bleaker Street. This is it…"

Saying that, he walked up to the door, and opened it.

Inside, the Commander, and the General stood, along with an entirely unfamiliar group of furs.

"Mr. McCloud. Welcome," the commander greeted, acknowledging the rest of the team with the wave of his hand.

The door squeaked open again, and Blade proceeded into the room.

"Hey guys."

"I'd like you to meet the team Epsilon." The General said, motioning to the group composed of four individuals.

"This team has completed many missions successfully, and they've _never_ lost a man," Pepper stated proudly.

"Meet Captain Jeffery Wilson, Rifleman Scott Frye, Marksman Michael Walk, and Demolitions Expert Jason Turner."

The mentioned party looked briefly at the team, admiration in their eyes.

"I'll let you get acquainted," the Commander said.

Fox walked up to the captain, and shook his hand.

"You'll do just fine," Fox spoke.

OVER BLACK SKULL BASE…

Captain Jeffrey looked out over the terrain, his feline eyes noticing many tiny details.

"Sir?" he questioned, motioning over Blade.

"Yeah?" he questioned.

"What about weapons? We aren't going in defenseless, right?"

Blade responded by handing him a silenced pistol.

Wilson looked at it skeptically.

"Trust me, they'll never see it coming," Blade confidently spoke.

The hatch doors opened, letting in the chill Arctic air, and soon nine figures leapt out of the plane, moving towards the ground quickly.

Scott, who had never dived before, was doing relatively fine.

The mist lost him from sight as everyone tugged at the cords on their 'chutes.

Fox landed hard, quickly pulling off the chute.

Seven figures landed next to him.

"Where's Frye?" Fox questioned.

Wilson reached for his radio and messaged for a regroup.

Jason spotted a figure in the snow, and jogged over to him.

"It's Frye!" he yelled.

When everyone got over to him, they noted that his neck was broken on some rocks.

"Probably broke his neck on landing, poor bastard," Mitchell stated.

Krystal reached over to him, and checked out the area around his collar.

There was no black bruise.

"His cords aren't tangled!" Slippy said.

Krystal noticed a lump on his head.

"He was knocked out!"

"Unconscious people don't just get up and break their necks," Michael deadpanned.

Fox looked around suspiciously, but stayed silent.

"C'mon. Let's set up a camp. We won't get there before dark."

Everyone set up the tents they had strapped to their backs, ate a meager supper, and went to sleep.

Everyone but one.

_They never noticed anything!_ One thought gleefully.

End Chapter 15


	16. Plans

Chapter 16

_Plans_

_Disclaimer: Don't own Star Fox, FN40s, or Blade McFallon. I DO own_ _Captain Jeffery Wilson, Marksman Michael Walk, and Demolitions Expert Jason Turner, however._

Author's note: Okay guys. Sorry 'bout the wait. Writer's block sucks. I'm even sorrier about this chapter. I think it's a total piece of crap. I wrote it to see if I get more ideas anytime soon. Hopefully, I'll update soon, and hopefully, I'll actually be proud to call the next chapter a chapter. Anyway, on with this horror!

Fox rose early. He opened his eyes quickly, looking around. He saw Krystal slumbering in her sleeping bag next to him, and Turner to the left of her, near the tent's side. He quietly slid out of his own bag, and crept over to the zippered tent flaps. He grabbed one of tags at a zipper's end, and pulled, wincing at the noise it made. He cast a quick look back at the two still asleep. Jason grunted, nearly waking, but merely rolled over. Krystal did nothing.

Fox quickly pulled it the rest of the way down, however, and quickly stepped out into the numbing cold. He was greeted by a fire, where Jeffery Wilson stirred some oatmeal around in his mess kit. He looked up when he noticed the vulpine emerge, but said nothing.

"I'm going to check out the . . . site," Fox mentioned uneasily.

Wilson looked up. "I'm going with you!"

Fox shook his head, that quite frankly meaning 'No'. The retriever looked down angrily.

"He was my teammate!" he burst out, frustrated.

Fox nodded.

"I understand that, but we need one _woken _person here."

Jeffery nodded, defeated by that one fact. He went back to his oatmeal, somewhat sullenly.

Fox trudged up the steep hill, to where they had landed, and where they had first found the body. There was no evidence that anyone named Scott Frye had been laid to rest here, except for a rather large mound of snow, and the very edge of the canvas of a parachute.

Fox ambled over to the mound and began slowly ripping snow from its position. After a few seconds, he came upon the corpse of Scott Frye, Rifleman. He looked perfectly fine, except for being dead, of course. Fox grasped the dead man's shoulders and lifted. Because the corpse had been exposed to the bitter cold and snow for awhile, it was like sitting down in theater's chair. If you got up, it flew right back up.

Fox, after about a minute of struggling, rolled the corpse over to its side. He examined the area around where Frye's head had previously been lying. Fox's hands were losing feeling, but he pressed on. Seeing something, he crouched down to get a better look.

It was a broken stick. "Hmm…"

Fox turned and headed back to camp, digesting the new information.

Upon returning, he noted the other sleepers were now awake.

He sat down and began to get his breakfast ready, thinking about the new information.

"I found a broken stick," he mentioned to the Epsilon captain.

The rest of the group looked up.

"Okay guys. After this, we break camp, and get ready to infiltrate the base."

It was Wilson who spoke. He stood up, and grabbed a small stone. He turned around to face the group, and began etching a diagram.

After a few seconds, he spoke up.

"Okay. This - -"he said, pointing to a rectangle, "is the base. Now, we can't just hop in there and hope no one notices. No, I've got a better way. This- -"he broke off again, this time pointing to a circle, "is a bar. A lot of guards like to go there to drown their sorrows and so forth. We go in, get some Intel from a contact in the place, and get out. There are a lot of personnel at the base, they won't notice us."

"Like hell they won't!" Wolf exclaimed. "Half of us here have our faces in the tabloids daily. They'll see us as soon as we get in there, and plug us full of plasma."

"No, we have uniforms, and a few masks too."

"Ah."

"Okay, let's break camp and get it over with," Blade grumbled.

After breaking up the campsite, which took all of ten minutes, they donned their uniforms, as well as masks.

Blade pulled out a pair of binoculars, and held them to his now-reptilian face. His blue eyes scanned the horizon, looking for the bar like a jeweler looks for fake gems. Finally, after about thirty seconds of searching, he found something.

"That it?" he called over to Turner.

The younger soul took the binoculars and held them to his own eyes.

"I would think so, it's the only bar in the town. The Generals don't want their people tipsy all the time," he said wryly.

Blade grunted an agreement.

"We should get going," Michael muttered anxiously.

As soon as he said that, Blade noticed Fox walk by, disguised now as a gorilla, and motion him to hurry.

Blade quickly leapt up, landed on his feet, and hurried behind him.

The mission was starting.


	17. Revelations

Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox, Blade McFallon, or the FN-20.

Revelations

The first thing that washed over Blade McFallon was the sounds. Drunken yelling, cursing, and violence all greeted him warmly at the door of the bar. A faded sign, complete with paint chips, displayed the area's name. It was inscribed with the rather simple name of _Joe's Place_, but the place was anything but clean. Booze, blood, and empty plasma clips littered the floor. This obviously wasn't a friendly place.

There of course, _were _troops socializing, but they were too content with their mugs to stem the chaos. McFallon hesitated a second, then stepped through the entryway, and the smell nearly made turn tail and run out again. His wife had been killed by a drunk driver way back in his 30's, and he had vowed to never touch a cold one again. It had been awhile since he last smelled the stuff too.

To his left, Walk looked more then a little ill-at-ease, too. However, Epsilon captain Jeffery Wilson only showed a wrinkled, scaly nose as his signs of disgust. He walked over to the bar, and asked for a simple glass of water. To this, the bartender, a tender-looking avian pulled out somewhat dirty mug, and left for the kitchen. This was a bar, after all, and they weren't known for serving anything child-savvy.

The bird returned a second later, with Wilson's glass. The male reached for his drink, but she gently grabbed his hand and steered it away from his sustenance, saying slowly, "What's the magic word?"

Wilson responded with a smooth, "Please."

The bird shook her pink head and replied with," Abracadabra."

This, apparently, was some sort of timed code, because at that moment a rather fat creature came out and ordered:"Jenny, your shift is done. Go."

The bird acknowledged this by walking out from behind the counter and through the door. On her way, she was grabbed and pulled violently onto Wilson's awaiting lap.

Wilson had pulled out a small flask of dark colored liquid and poured it into his drink, mixing it to make it look like beer.

Wilson swiveled to put his back to the smooth counter.

"Okay, so what do we need to know? Don't open your beak; they'll know what we're doing. Just use sign language in my palm," he whispered.

The bird, Jenny, obeyed by putting up a struggle. She kicked and screamed shrilly, while all the people turned their eye sockets to the scene. Wilson did his best to look as thoroughly drunk as possible. The bird's feathered digits ghosted along the captain's palm, staying only long enough to signify a sign before moving to the other. Finally, the female gave a particularly hard kick to the shin, which relaxed his grip. She quickly shot up and slapped him, for the sake of realism, and probably something else, too.

She got up and left the bar in a huff, tears with no meaning flying down her face. The whole room stayed quiet for a minute, getting over the scene. Finally, a Venomian General slammed his bottle down, and stood to face the Captain-In-Disguise.

"You are a disgrace to this army, this unit, and all of the Venomian cause, Corporal. You are lucky I am a very nice man; otherwise it would be either a court-martial paper on my desk, or your head. Do that again, and I swear, it _will_ be the second!"

Wilson only let out a convincing drunken burp and a "Yes, sir."

Michael Walk nervously got up from his stool, and went towards the door. The General called him with a shout of," Private!"

Walk turned to face him with a weak, mumbled," Yes, sir?"

"Are you going to report this man?"

"Uh, that's right sir."

"Good. I'll see that you take his place."

Walk turned and exited the door, traveling to Jenny's meeting place. He quickly looked behind him, seeing if he was being shadowed. Content that he was alone, he continued to casually stroll down the alleyway. He didn't notice a silencer protruding form the shadows, an aim lined up at his temple…

Two seconds later he heard a sharp _click _noise. Less then one second later, he lost all feeling as a laser exploded into his skull, melting his brain tissue.

Back at the bar, Fox was getting impatient. He had downed two Bloody Maries, and Michael should have been back before he was even half-way done with the first. He was just about to get up and go look for the kid himself when a soldier burst in shouting," Colonel! A corpse in the alley!"

Not only did the Colonel jump up, but so did four other certain people, Wilson excluded because he had to act drunk. Together the seven ran out the door, six of them following the reporter, who was leading them to the site. He stopped suddenly at the mouth of a narrow space between buildings. He walked quickly down the area for a few yards, and stopped at a lump on the ground.

It was Wilson, and blood was pooled in a sticky mess around his head.

"He was shot at close range, sirs," the soldier mentioned, that fact being obvious.

"I must go and report this. All of you, go to base and get in your barracks. We're locking down security. Go get the other soldiers at the bar; tell them to return as well. I need to report this."

With that, the colonel turned around and dashed towards the large complex of the stronghold.

"I'll go get the others," a disguised Wolf volunteered.

Blade sighed. _Poor kid… That's two gone. What the hell is happening with this mission? We ought to just abort…_

"Captain? Captain! Captain Johns?"

The attempt for attention fell on deaf ears, however.

"Sir, we ought to get back to our barracks now, sir."

This time it was Krystal spoke. Her voice synthesizer was working perfectly, she sounded just like a male.

"… Right," Blade responded this time, secretly pleased that their cover wasn't completely blown.

Seconds later, Wolf arrived, leaning against a tottering Wilson, who was doing a good part of acting the drunk.

After a small journey by foot, they were at the front entrance to the base. It felt strange for Fox and Blade to be going in the front way.

However, the entire group got past the checkpoint without trouble, and the anonymous soldier drifted to the left, towards the gray building that were presumably the barracks.

The secret enemies turned around towards the back, and entered.

A bear, looking uncomfortable in a stiff, starchy security guard's uniform looked upon them.

"We need to get this one to the medical bay. He's pretty screwed up," Fox bluffed, nodding his scaly head towards Wilson.

The bear looked him over skeptically, before responding in a gruff, gritty voice," You sure? He looks fine to m- -"

The guard was cut off by Wilson's fist in his face. He stumbled back, right into Krystal's arms. She wrapped the mentioned limbs around his throat, and applied pressure. The guard went limp after a few seconds, and he fell to the floor like wet sand. Blade took the guard's hand and pressed it up to a hand scanner, which allowed them clearance. Fox, who was preoccupied with dragging the heavy, unconscious form, and gently laid him down over the keyboard, making it look like he fell asleep.

The group heaved a collective sigh, and continued past the open door. Fox pointed out a diagram to everyone, and they studied it for a second. They were on their way to the General's personal quarters. The Colonel at the bar had mentioned that he would inform somebody of Walk's death. There was a chance that he might talk to the General, and then later, discuss any future battle plans. They had to know what they were.

"Let's say we pay the General a visit…"

The comrades were at the General's door, and they were glad they were in shadow. A security camera looked down at them. Fox slowly took out a Camera Scrambler, and aimed it at the security device. A whining noise was heard. The group hurried under the camera, and Fox stopped the pressure on the trigger.

Blade slowly opened the door one inch. He took a quick look around. Thankfully, the General preferred older lighting methods. A fire was crackling warmly in the hearth, warding off any cold. Krystal began to creep forward slowly, toward two figures seated facing the inferno, when Jeffery took out his FN-20 and slammed its butt into her stomach, hard.

Krystal fell back, thoroughly winded, a look of extreme shock and confusion on her face.

"What the f are you doing, Wilson!" Fox whispered, as loudly as he dared, his face contorted with anger.

"Get up and come away from the shadows!" Wilson commanded loudly, catching the attention of the room's other occupants.

"What's going on over there!" a heavily accented voice questioned.

Wilson quickly yanked off the masks of Krystal, Fox, and Blade. Wolf's was dangling when a light switch was flicked on, illuminating the area over their heads.

"Intruders, sir!" Wilson's excited voice called.

"Bring them here," the man ordered.

Wilson complied, jabbing his gun into Blade's spine, causing him to hurry.

The voice, who was now revealed as a slightly aged ape, stared at the group.

He walked slowly over to Blade. "I don't know you," he said softly.

"But I know you three," he said, glaring over at Fox, Krystal, and Wolf.

"Wolf O'Donnel," he spat angrily, getting saliva on Wolf's face.

"And the McClouds! You my friend," he broke off, pointing to Wilson's sneering face, "Will be rewarded greatly for this!"

The General led the spies, now prisoners, over to a simple wooden table. He pulled out three chairs, and commanded them to sit. He then ambled over to a cabinet, opened it, and pulled out three notebooks, and three pencils.

He walked over to a separate door at the opposite end of the room, and rasped to some unknown individual," Get in here!"

Two guards immediately walked in, saluted stiffly, and lowered their arms when asked.

The two guards walked over to the table, where Jeffery was already standing.

"Traitor!" Krystal screamed.

Wilson replied by pistol-whipping her across the face, causing Fox to lunge at him. A guard elbowed him in the stomach, but Blade jumped up, too.

Suddenly, a gunshot fired, a bullet whizzed by, inches away from Blade's nose.

"Sit!" the General ordered severely.

The group complied.

Wilson lowered his own handgun to Krystal's head.

"Start writing," he whispered softly.

End Chapter 17


	18. Pulling a Hudini

Chapter Eighteen

Pulling a Houdini

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Fox or Blade McFallon, or the FN-20 and its various non-lethal rounds.

Krystal McCloud was currently in a bad spot. She had a traitor's gun at the back of her skull, a pencil in her hand, a blank notebook in front of her, and an idea on how to escape. She had been betrayed, along with the rest of her group – in a similar state – by one Jeffery Wilson. The latter had his gun at her head, and was threatening to pull the trigger if she didn't write.

Directly in front of her, Fox had his head bowed. "I'm sorry, guys. I didn't know this would happen."

The guard standing behind Krystal's spouse took his AK-47 and slammed it's butt into the side of Fox's head.

"Shut up and start writing!" he barked.

Wolf snickered. "Wake up on the wrong side of your Dad today?" he laughed. The way he saw it, they were all going to die, and he was going to die happy.

While the two guards busy using Wolf as a temporary punching bag for a second, Krystal took her pencil in her hand, smashed her elbow into Wilson's stomach, winding him, and drove the pencil dead-center into his right eye ball.

Wilson screamed in extreme pain, his hand instinctively clenching. His aim had flown when he first felt the literally blinding pain, and when he accidentally fired the gun, it hit one of the guards in his jugular vein. The guard dropped, his crimson life-fluid spurting in every direction. Blade tackled the other guard, while Fox took the man's gun and fired some lasers into the aged General's chest.

After the carnage, the group got their bearings.

Blade cleared his throat. "Guys, we're N.O.C. agents, we can't afford to have that happen again."

Although it was pretty obvious, the others silently agreed. Krystal grabbed the group's weapons, tossing them to each member.

A lone guard crashed through the door, hearing the shots. Seeing the team, he held his hands over his head, dropped his gun, and surrendered. Blade shook his head and shot him in the stomach with a Sticky Shocker, dropping him.

The group hurried, a bit faster to the room's exit. Once outside, they noticed a closed door, labeled CONFERENCE ROOM.

The light was on above it, meaning a conference was taking place right now. Krystal nodded towards the door. Blade crept forward, quickly placing an Optic Cable under the door. He examined the room's insides for a second, then pulled the 'snake' out.

"It looks like battle plans. I'll pay them a little visit," he grinned. The jet-black husky opened the door six inches, squeezed in, and took refuge in shadows. The remaining group outside took refuge in the same thing, and waited for the man to come out.

Five minutes later, he did. The group burned their trail onward, trying to get to the exit without being seen. It was a little harder then before, though, because not only had someone discovered the security guard, but another group of guards had come in after the small skirmish in the General's quarters, and discovered the corpses. Obviously, the place was on high alert.

"McCloud," Blade hissed after awhile. The orange vulpine turned his head to the speaker, ears perked up.

"Did you know Falco Lombardi's here? I saw him in the meeting room. He seemed right at home, though."

"I'll have to report that, then," he said, darkness flickering across his already grim features.

"We're almost to the exit, guys," Wolf noted, seeing a fire escape. After doing a quick sweep of the area, Krystal pushed open the metal door. Predictably, the fire alarm went off, alerting each and every guard to their position.

"No! I turned that thing off back at the security booth!" Fox said angrily. Stealth was now their second priority. Their first was now getting out alive. The group just prayed that fate would look their way again. The posse scrambled noisily down the red, metallic steps, trying to get down as soon as possible. Guards just a floor above them opened their fire exit door, saw the group, and began firing freely.

The team returned fire, blood dripping down the steps, as well as quite a few spent metal jackets. Thirty seconds later, the four stopped, turned, and began sprinting down the ladders again. Once they got to the lowest level, they vaulted over the railing for a few extra seconds, which could be the difference between capture and death, or freedom and life.

The group landed hard on the cement, but kept pressing on until they got to the end of the base's walls. Now they were wide in the open. The whole team was still in black, and there was snow as far as the eye could see. On the good side, it was dark, but that still wouldn't make being discovered very hard.

Now all they had to do was get through the town, and up into the mountains for extraction. Fortunately, they wouldn't have to go on foot, because there was a parked hovertruck outside. Three of the four crawled in back, while Blade took driver.

He put the pedal to the metal, much to the discomfort of the rear riders. The truck glided over every pothole, but the gravity suspension still went down and up pretty fast. Suddenly, something broke the one of the truck's side mirrors. Blade swore, turning to look back. No less then four patrol cars, sirens blaring, were chasing after him, complete with guards shooting out of the sides.

Blade slammed on the brakes, and one car went swerving past him, onto an icy road. The driver lost control, and slammed into a nearby telephone pole. The speed was so immense that the car was cleaved in two. Somehow, though, all five animals got out of the new exit, dazed, but alive.

_That's two to worry about, _he thought, as a bullet pierced into another driver's chest.

Blade slammed on the brakes again, ignoring the three individual thumping noises that came from the back. Another car flew off into an iced-over pond, next to a five star hotel. It broke through the ice, and into the frigid waters beneath. If the water didn't get to them, hypothermia would.

The other car simply skidded ahead of the truck. Blade pulled a grenade off of his vest, and threw it, watching it roll, stopping as it hit the car's tire. Five seconds later, it didn't explode. _Must've been a dud, _Blade thought, and took out his pistol. He aimed for a second, and fired a careful shot. The men in the car weren't so lucky that time. The grenade exploded, throwing the car the car over a few feet.

Blade calmly pressed down on the pedal and continued driving. Fire trucks and ambulances were already on their way to the scene. Blade stopped when the truck's grill came to a steep, rocky hill, the beginnings of the mountain. He pondered a second, and then continued upwards a little farther.

_No use getting out until I really need to, _he thought wryly.

About four minutes later, the hill became too steep, and the truck began whining as it fought against gravity. Blade stopped, but on the parking brake, and stepped out. He walked around to the back, and found the trio sprawled on the truck's bed, looking more then a little worse for wear then they had been when they stepped in the back.

Fox got up gingerly, nursing a tender spot on his forehead. No doubt about it, he would be stiff in the morning. The three got out of the truck slowly. They walked up the mountain-side, low to the ground, until they came to the spot where they had spent the previous night. The group stopped for a quick breather, and then continued briefly on. Wolf stopped to dig around a large mound in the cold, white powder.

He exhumed the corpse of Scott Frye. Fox took out a flare and lit it in the clearing. Ten minutes later, the entire team was back in the Osprey helicopter, en route to Corneria City. Fox glanced over at Krystal, wearily rubbing his eyes. His wife grinned, and leaned in for a kiss.Five seconds later,he leaned his head on her shoulder, and, like the rest of the group, save the pilot, fell asleep.

End Chapter 18


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